The Darkness in Zoro
by ForbiddenLeo
Summary: There is darkness in everyone. Anger and fear, trust and guilt, questioning and doubt. Zoro has always been plagued with his darkness and Doflamingo reaches down to bring it to the surface, ripping the crew apart and plucking at the seams of friendship. What will become of the crew, the swordsman, and his lurking demons?
1. Enter the Spore

**Authors Note: This story isn't really set during any specific time in the manga… probably before the Impel Down arc. There will not be pairings. This story is similar to my other, Zoro Turned Marine. In this one however, Zoro does not turn marine nor does he lose his memories or such. Despite that, my two stories are plot similar, so if you like this one, feel free to check the other one out!**

**This is NOT yaoi.**

**Authors note: I mentioned something called a "Soot Spore." If you've ever seen Digimon season 2, it's a LOT like the Dark spore…**

"We'll be back in about an hour!" A voice rang clear through the ships deck. The figure scaled casually down the side of the ship, with short orange hair whipping in the wind and was followed by a Champaign blonde male. He took deep and intoxicating breaths as the wind carried the girls perfume through the damp air. Behind him a young man with dark curly hair had his head down and fiddled with a small object, twisting it through and around his tan fingers. His eyes narrowed slightly and his brow furrowed as the device emitted a small ticking noise.

"What are you doing back there?" Luffy asked from in front of the odd pack. He scurried back to where Usopp had stood still, a frustrated look spreading across his face.

"I'm designing a new weapon! Whoever gets a taste of this sucker won't stand a chance against me, the Great Captain Usopp! Not that they would in the first place." The young teen boasted, his chest swelling with pride and a small bead of sweat dropped formed on the nape of his neck from the lie.

"Oooh what does it do?" A small voice peeped up from the ground. Large brown eyes looked up from behind a furry exterior. Chopper let out a great smile and stared up at Usopps invention.

"Ah, well, I'm not quite sure yet. But I know it will be great. After all, I designed it." Usopp chuckled nervously, feeling the small metal object roll between his palms.

The group wandered off into a dense forest, heading along a small beaten trail where footsteps had been traced before. Leading the crew where the two females. Robin's head was buried deep into a map while Nami was twisting a compass skillfully around in her delicate hands.

Soon they had all disappeared from the beach where they had docked, leaving the Thousands Sunny gently drifting along the outskirts of the shore.

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Zoro sat propped up in what Frankie had deemed the health room. His muscular back lay firmly against the wooden wall and his head was cocked slightly, looking out the window as he watched his Nakama shrink away in the depths of the wilderness. He let out a small sigh and wiggled his strong fingers anxiously.

Bandages wrapped up and down his arms, practically covering every inch of his body on the upper half. His shoulder itched uncomfortably and Zoro shifted slightly, trying to relieve the small burning sensation.

_I guess it's safe to take my bandages off now, Choppers out of sight._ Zoro thought as he casually started playing with the end of the bandage wrapping. _I need to train. I shouldn't have been that injured from that last fight._

His mind drifted off to a few days prior where the crew had gotten in a little fight with a few other high ranking bounties. He cursed himself a few times, replaying his fight over with the other crew's swordsman in his head. He could see every flaw and mistake and it almost made him sick to think about how weak he was. _I need to get stronger and I can't do it if I'm just sitting around._

Zoro moved his awkwardly large fingers over the bandage, trying to find an opening to take them off. However he felt his hands go slightly numb and a cold sensation crept over them. Zoro sent his hands an icy glare and tried once again to remove the small wrappings covering him. Once again, he felt a wave of numbness spread across his body and his fingers would not move as he commanded them.

Zoro furrowed his brow with an angry look in his eyes. He shifted slightly, trying to move his arm to push him into a standing position. However it just slipped uselessly out from under his weight.

"Chopper…" Zoro growled as it dawned on him what happened. The damn doctor drugged him!

He could almost hear the doctor's voice echo in his ear "Don't go moving around too much! You were close to death last fight and it would be best if you just stayed still for a while."

Despite his frustration, Zoro let out a small chuckle. _I guess he's pretty much figured out that I don't plan on listening to his doctor's orders. He still didn't have to drug and numb me…_

Zoro used the last of his strength to push himself over onto his back, rolling into a more comfortable position. _On the bright side at least this means that I'll get a little sleep._ He thought as he felt the rest of his body succumb to Choppers drug.

He felt his eye lids begin to grow heavy as he felt the urge to yawn and sleep grow over him.

Yet just as Zoro felt his world go dark with sleep, he heard a sudden clanging from outside of his room.

Zoro's eyes immediately shot open and faced towards the wooden door. _Only Frankie and Brooke are still on the ship. Calm down_. Zoro told himself. Despite that he could not tear his eyes away from the door.

Again he heard a rustling noise, as if there were footsteps amongst the deck. They were neither heavy like Frankie's nor fragile and quite like Brookes. Zoro's ears perked up as he heard the padding of feet grow louder and louder. Through the stillness of the ship he could almost feel the vibrations formed from the powerful steps.

Zoro held his breath, not daring to make a sound. His expert eyes were trained on the door, searching for any sign of movement.

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For minutes he stayed like that, with his hand weakly grasping the sword around his belt with pitiful strength.

"Must be my imagination…" He whispered softly to himself as Zoro forced himself to pull his eyes away from the wooden door.

An eerie silence filled the sick room as Zoro tried to wander back into the realm of sleep.

"Oh no dear Zoro," A voice cooed from above, "It is anything but your imagination."

Zoro's eyes shot open immediately and quickly scanned the room. He felt his breath leave him for a moment as he searched for the source of the voice. However, everything appeared to be normal, just as it was supposed to be.

Air rapidly shot up and down Zoro's throat as he began to feel tense and an uneasy feeling shook him. He could feel somebody else's presence, but he eyes would not find the source. His chest heaved, stretching the bandages against his toned flesh.

The room was empty, but Zoro refused to doubt his hearing and remained awake. Suddenly he heard a small knock on the window next to him.

His head turned sharply, cracking a small muscle in his neck. The window only a few feet from his mossy head, had quickly been opened and was left hanging in the breeze.

Zoro frantically tried to get up, but he felt the drugs holding him down to the bed. His muscles did not move and sat uselessly as Zoro once again searched the room with his eyes.

"Whose there?" He asked, his voice breaking the stillness of the room.

A dark figure hung in the corner of the room, the shadow covering all but the silhouette of the body.

"Come out you coward." Zoro said, his voice was forceful, but he also felt a twinge of fear. He was defenseless and weakened.

"Oh aren't you a little feisty." The voice taunted as the figure emerged from the shadows. Blonde hair stuck up shortly in a respected fashion. A large feather coat was draped over his dainty looking shoulders. Small sunglasses shaded his eyes, but Zoro could still feel them looking at him.

Zoro inhaled sharply "Do-

"Hush boy." The man chuckled, his voice pitching to varying octaves. "Don't need you calling for help, now do we? Not that you would."

Zoro glared at the man as he tried to yell for Frankie or Brooke. Yet his voice would not work and he could feel his vocal cords pulling in his throat. _The bastard_. Zoro thought.

"No, you're too strong and too proud." The man continued to say as he advanced towards Zoro. Through every step Zoro could feel his heart beat quicken and his breath grow shorter.

Zoro's hands fumbled weakly at his sides, trying to grasp the hilt of his sword again. However they would not listen to him. _Damn Chopper… Shit_

"Hmmm what's this? You can't move? Well isn't that just a shame…" The man spoke with fake sympathy. He was at the edge of Zoro's bed and he casually placed his hand on the edge of the bed. "I have a question for you.'

"Back the hell up!" Zoro shot at the man. He was surprised for a moment to have his voice back.

"Rather rude. I'll just keep your voice restrained for the time being." The man chuckled maliciously. Zoro immediately felt his throat tighten and swell slightly. He gave the man a sharp look.

"Now, back to my question. I would like to have you join my crew. I need a strong swordsman who doesn't need to be controlled." The man spoke quickly and with authority, as if Zoro already knew what was coming.

"That's not a question and I already have a pirate crew." Zoro responded, his voice was raspy and broken in several sections.

"Yes but you could leave them for mine." The figure added. He raised a pale hand up to Zoro's face. Zoro attempted to flinch away, screaming at every muscle in his body to run or fight or call for Brooke and Frankie. Yet he stood stiff and frozen in his bed.

"They are my nakama." Zoro declared with an edgy tone.

"Yet they drugged you. Do they not trust you?" The voice came in sweet and silky, as though it had been preparing that line for a while.

This snapped a nerve in Zoro's mind. "They trust me plenty! You don't know shit!" Zoro retorted with anger. _They trust me. They trust me more than I trust myself._

The mans quirky smile quickly faded away in a broken frown, where the corners of his lips hung upwards still but there was a sense of hatred in his eyes.

"Very well. I do not agree but eventually you will find your way back to me." The man lamented.

"No, I won't. I will stand by my crew until death." Zoro insisted, his voice growing stronger and more firm.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." The man mocked, a sly smile returning to his pale face. He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small sphere. It was black and glistened slightly in the slight light of the room. "Do you know what this is?" He asked with fake curiosity.

Zoro just glared back at him, clenching his jaw. He wiggled his fingers slightly, trying to test if the drug had begun to worn off. Yet this was to no avail as his muscles still felt numb and cold.

"No, no of course you don't." The man mumbled, more to himself than to Zoro. "This is called a Soot spore. Or Dark spore, whichever you prefer." He twisted the small bead lightly in his fingers.

Zoro felt a shiver go down his back. _I need to call for Frankie! Brooke! Shit anybody!_ Yet his voice grew faint in his throat and he could only project to a quiet whisper.

"It's a very special bead. I got it from the government, quite horrible in fact. I'd tell you what it does but you'll find out soon enough. After all, tomorrow you won't even remember this conversation."

"What? Like hell! Once I get out of here I will kill you!" Zoro whispered angrily.

"That's the spirit. Just keep thinking like that." The man whispered back. He looked down at the bead in his hand one last time before lifting it in front of Zoro.

Zoro tried to turn his head to the side, to connect his body and make it move. Yet he found he couldn't even move his head or neck because the drug had set in so much.

Fear locked into Zoro's eyes as the mans hand drew closer and closer. The man placed his soft fingers onto Zoro's forehead and gently pushed the bead through Zoro's skin.

Zoro's eyes grew wide as he felt the black bead slowly sink into his skull, moving past his bone and flesh. A muffled scream began to form in his throat as he felt the bead maneuver itself to his brain.

"I'll give you a few days…" The man said quietly as he climbed over the limp Zoro and exited the ship through the window.

A few moments later silence had returned to the medical cabin of the ship. Zoro lay unconscious on his bed, with not even a trace of the man having been there.

**Authors note: PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks for reading. Chapter 2 will be hard to write so itll probabyl come out in a month or so**


	2. Drugged and Dumfounded

**Authors Note: Hey readers! I'm really excited about all the positive responses I've been getting about the first chapter. I really really REALLY appreciate it. Here's the next chapter!**

**I do not own One Piece. And this is NOT Yaoi.**

The boat rocked softly against the pale waves of the sea as the sound of peoples voices began to drift towards its wooden exterior. The small group advanced towards the ship which swayed with such grace that one would never have expected it to have gone under the knife after countless marine and pirate battles.

"Saaannjjjiiii" A voice rang in a whiny tone throughout the still coastal air. A small teen with raven black hair held a goofy grin pressed against his pale face. He carefully felt a small straw hat in his hands, running his nimble fingers over the grainy and slightly destroyed material of the hat. Luffy tossed it back on his hand, slamming it down on his crown with a dull thud.

A few feet ahead of the captain was the cook with one of his hands stuffed roughly in his suede coat pocket. His other was placed carefully around a cigarette that dangled from the corner of his mouth, barely holding on by the corner of his white, yet tobacco stained teeth. His hand fumbled viciously around in his hand as it searched for a small lighter.

"Sanjii!" The voice called out again to the blonde haired cook who spun viciously around. His brow was furrowed in deep, showing off several tense creases in his forehead. His teeth grinded together briefly, smashing the ends of the unlighted cigarette between his jaw. The taste of unsmoked tobacco seeped into his tongue and Sanjii quickly removed the destroyed cigarette from his mouth and tossed it roughly to the ground. The sweet smell of the salty sea was destroyed and replaced with ash and disgust.

"What is it Luffy?" Sanjii asked angrily, already knowing that the response would have something to do with food. He kicked the crushed cigarette under the sand with a small motion of his foot.

"Food! I'm hungry…" The captain pleaded with his lips pressed tightly together. His black eyes looked up at the chef with an air of innocence and naivety.

_Isn't that just a shocker…_ the cook thought bitterly as he turned around and advanced towards the ship with a small sigh. His black shoes dusted the sand below his feet lightly with delicate steps, causing the tiny grains still sprayed out in every direction from the force.

"I'll feed you something when we get back to the ship." Sanjii responded with an exhausted tone. He had just made something a few hours ago that had seemed like a feast to any normal person. His hands and creativity as a chef felt drained, but he knew that he would always have the passion to cook. But damn, sometimes Luffy really did take all the energy out of the youthful chef.

"I'm rather hungry myself…" Nami echoed behind the pair of boys. She dressed in a casual top, where the sleeves hung down low on her body but clung tightly around the torso. The bright pink shade of the shirt reflected her pale exterior and stood out against her brilliant hair color.

Instantly hearts sprung up in Sanjii eyes as he swooned over to the girl's side with a soft stature. "Of course my flower, I will make you the best food that ever had the grace to taste your tongue."

"Oh why thank you Sanjii dear." Nami responded with a smug look on her face. She gave him a coy smile and bated her eyes softly as Sanjii melted slightly.

"Nothing but the best for my Nami!" Sanjii cooed, his head already dancing with ideas of the perfect meal for his perfect girl. Nami let out a small and flattered hum in response, her mind was elsewhere, thinking back to their failed exploration trip. They had explored much of the island, but had failed to find anything, save a small village on the other outskirts. There were little supplies they could get there, but regardless, Nami knew that they would have to return to get food and wood the next day. It was a long walk and her feet hurt immensely, and she could already feel small bruises and blisters forming under the weight of her heels.

Luffy bore a huge grin, larger than his normal one, with his cheeks reaching out past his rosy ears. "You said once we get back to the ship right?" He asked, his eyes wide and excited. Sanjii responded with a slow nod, not particularly worried as the ship was still a mile or so away.

Unfortunately for Sanjii, a stretchy arm quickly wrapped around his waist and pulled him close to Luffy. The monkey captain let out a goofy laugh and reached his other arm across the sky and the sea, clasping his fingers tightly on the mast of the ship.

Sanji's eyes also grew wide and he managed to stutter out a small "No. No… Luffy" before he was whisked away into the air, sailing through the salty sea sky with the cries of Gomu Gomu Rocket still ringing and echoing in air. Sanjii let out a small and high pitched scream, which he would later testify as a manly yell, which was lost over the ocean. The pair hit the ground of the deck of the ship with a dull_ thud_ and left a small dent in the floorboards. Sanjii stumbled off of the rubber boy, his head was spinning and he felt slightly nauseas as he sank down a little in his stature. Small bits of vomit creped up his throat, but Sanjii pushed it down.

"Don't do that. Ever. Again." Sanjii mustered out, his hand rested on his knee and he tried to catch his breath.

Luffy looked back at him with unconcerned eyes and let out a small squeak, which translated to food. Sanjii rolled his eyes and heaved himself up from a hunched position and wandered towards the kitchen.

Back on the dusty beach shore, Nami was fumbling with a complicated knot that held their dingy tied to the shallow dock they had found. The rope was frayed in many places and as her nimble fingers tried to untie the knot she became increasingly frustrated.

"That Luffy…" She mumbled under her breath "He could've taken us with him but –No! We get left here with the small little ship and we don't even Franky here to untie it for us. Selfish, that's what he is…"

Robin clicked her tongue slightly off the roof of her mouth. "Now, now Navigator-son, do you really want to be dragged through the air and have to deal with that unpleasantness all for the sake of saving a few minutes of travel?" The dark hair woman reasoned with a sadistic grin on her face. Almost everybody on the crew had experienced at least one flight with Luffy and nobody had come back feeling tip-top. Even Zoro felt nauseas and couldn't land on his feet when he soared with Luffy.

"Ah… No I guess not." Nami sighed and went back to the knot. Frustrated by the stiff rope she threw her hands up and exclaimed "You untie this damn boat!"

The orange haired women sulked away from the little dingy which floated sadly in the weak waves. Robin walked over towards the difficult knot and began to fumble with the rope, twisting it under and through itself many times.

Meanwhile, Chopper was on the shore with the ladies and Usopp. He was wringing his small hands, or to say hooves, together and his fur looked slightly sickly, with patches reflecting small beads of sweat in the sunlight.

"What's wrong Chopper?" Usopp asked, nudging his small and beastly friend in the shoulder with his hand, which was also covered in sweat but for a completely different reason.

"Uh... Nothing. Nothing at all!" Chopper exclaimed, his voice was hurried and rushed as the words escaped his mouth with a small amount of air. He let out a pathetic attempt of a laugh at the end.

Usopp looked down at his little friend and pushed his nose up towards the air with his tan finger and said "Hmm… my keen senses detect a lie Chopper! Don't lie to your captain." Usopp chuckled nervously afterwards. Nami let her eyes roll and shot Usopp a small look of _you-dirty-little-hypocrite._

Chopper looked down at his hooves guilty and whispered out, "It's about Zoro…"

At this Nami's ears perked up and directed her gaze from Robin to Chopper. "Oh my, what did that muscle head do this time?" In her head little dollar signs were already ringing up, the sound of a cash register chinking followed.

"Nothing! Well, not really…" Chopper said defensively.

"Well then, what is it?" Nami berated. Her hands were placed elegantly on her hips and a motherly expression overcame her youthful face. Tight creases formed at her lips and a small look of worry could be seen in her eyes.

"It's just his injuries have been really bad lately…" Chopper continued, but let his sentence trail off.

"Yes, we have noticed that. He isn't very careful with his wounds is he?" Robin interjected, holding the rope for the dingy in her hands.

"Exactly!" Chopper exclaimed with a look of relief. However that quickly faded with his next sentence, "Which… is why... I kind of drugged him before we left."

"What do you mean… drugged him?" Usopp asked attentively.

"Well I didn't want him to be training and pushing his injuries and he needs to rest. So I just gave him a little," _More like a lot to keep a man of his strength and will power down,_ "of a numbing drug- Just until we got back. But now I'm kind of scared to return to the ship."

_Scared of Zoro_? Nami thought curiously, gnawing at the edge of her lip. _Sure, Zoro was strong and rash and had almost as much judgment as a 5 year old and was powerful and had a small temper problem and… wait… oh yes, he would never hurt his nakama. Chopper is just overreacting and overanalyzing this._

"I'm sure swordsman-son knows that you had the best intentions for him and was only concerned for his health." Robin reasoned.

_True, but when has Zoro ever been one to listen to reason?_ Nami scoffed to herself. But she quickly pushed the thought out of her head.

"Zoro would never hurt you Chopper or be mad at you. He'll get over it. And it was only, what? A few hours we were gone? He can deal." She responded with a cheeky smile on her face as she laid a comforting hand on Chopper's furry shoulder.

He nodded slightly and crawled onto the dingy, where Usopp was already waiting. The small group helped each other into the boat, after little assistance from Usopp who was wildly thrashing about, convinced that some foreign sea creature was assaulting him.

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After several minutes, which had felt like hours to Nami who had to listen to Usopps rampant tales and stories, the group finally reached the Sunny. With a small flick of her wrist, Robin created a ladder made completely of her arms. She hoisted herself up onto the vessel and searched for a real ladder to use. She knew her crew mates did not approve of walking on her arms. The idea didn't seem all too strange to her, but she knew that to the others it was rather odd.

"Anytime now!" Nami shouted with her foot angrily tapping against the hull of the ship. Robin scurried on the deck for a few moments, finally seeing a rope dangling in the corner. She picked up the dusty ladder and tossed it overboard. The rest of the group proceeded to climb out of their little dingy and onto their grand ship.

With a small huff, Nami pulled herself over the railing and stood up. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to go see if Sanjii can make me something to eat." She said before she left towards the kitchen. Robin nodded in agreement and followed after her.

After Usopp and Chopper, with a great amount of slips, trips and difficulty, managed to get on the deck, Franky showed up with a bright smile. "'Sup Bros!"

Usopp responded with a gracious smile and cocked his head towards the dingy which floated uselessly in the ocean tide. "We should probably put a ladder in there. And paddles or oars." Franky walked over to the railing and gently threw himself over the side, landing precariously in the rocking dingy. "No problem! I got this…" He shouted over the roar of the ocean and he set to work modifying their little dingy.

"I… I'm going to go check on Zoro." Chopper stated nervously.

Usopp gave Chopper a small slap on the back and a quick, confident smile, "Don't worry about it!"

And with that, Chopper trailed off towards the infirmary. His hooves dragged against the wood as he approached the door and with a deep breath he pushed the wooden gateway open. _It's just Zoro… Calm down Chopper! _He thought to himself.

Zoro lay thrown across his bed with his arms locked behind the back of his head and his legs spread out eagle-styled. Chopper walked forward into the room, the floorboards squeaking slightly beneath his small frame. He gulped and carefully whispered "Zoro?" Almost hoping for no reply.

The sleeping figure stirred slightly, craning his head and neck towards Chopper before opening his piercing eyes to the light. Zoro laid there for a brief second before bolting up into a sitting position. Quickly, the blood flowed from his head and a wave of dizziness swarmed his vision. Letting out a small grunt, Zoro moved his head down slightly and held it in his hand, pushing slightly trying to get rid of the nausea.

"Don't get up to fast Zoro!" Chopper squeaked out as he immediately scurried to the swordsman side. He casually placed one hove on Zoro's shoulder, but the swordsman shrugged it away with a sigh.

A dull thudding echoed in Zoro's head and pounded against the walls of his head. His hand squeezed harder against the side of his head, trying to push the headache out. Groggily, his head calmed down and thoughts and memories began to formulate in his head. _Urgh… _Zoro thought painfully, fighting his thoughts through the headache, _What's going on…_ He slurred out another mumbling under his breath that came off as a groan. Almost instantly however, his memory slammed into the crevice of his mind, physically causing Zoro to gasp for air. His chest heaved out and the memory of him being drugged rushed into his head and crashed into his brain. Zoro lunged forehead, bringing both of his hands to his head with weariness.

"You drugged me…" Zoro said, more of a statement than a question. His fingers felt stiff and numb. He tried to move his legs forward slightly, but they felt heavy like lead. Zoro rolled his shoulders back with a small creak.

Chopper stood there with his eyebrows furrowed in and a worried expression. "Ah…um..." he stuttered, but he couldn't find real words.

Zoro turned his head sharply towards Chopper and there was a dark look in his eyes that Chopper had never seen, and wished to never see again. His passionate green eyes had turned sour and had a sickly look to them, clouded with musty silver over his pupils. Zoros front lip turned up slightly and part of his teeth showed in an angry snarl to Chopper. "You drugged me." Zoro repeated with a sense of defiance and anger.

He made a small movement, almost as though he were about to stand up and charge, and Chopper flinched away and retreated a few steps. The poor reindeer looked stunned and confused, wringing his hooves through his thick fur he felt the air intensify around him and suddenly oxygen didn't seem to want to flow into his lungs. Chopper found himself retreating a few more steps until he was a distance away from Zoro, who looked almost sickly from his point of view.

"I… I had to." Chopper whimpered out.

"Had to?" Zoro asked. His head tilted slightly to the sight, but Zoro didn't seem the slightest bit curious in the question. He felt as though he already knew the answer.

"You…" Chopper began, his voice raising and becoming more powerful. "You needed to rest! I'm sorry but your injuries are too severe, I couldn't let you move, let alone train!"

Zoro almost chuckled slightly, "I've seen worse than this. And I will see worse than this. If I don't train then I will not get better and this will keep happening." He spoke forcefully and with a small sneer across his chapped lips.

Chopper let out a small sigh before he continued. "Which is why you need to rest. If you don't rest then you won't ever get better!"

"Well you didn't have to drug me!" Zoro shot back, still feeling the slow numbness that came from the drug. It itched at his legs from the inside, but Zoro could feel the stiffness slowly leaving his system.

"Yes I did! I know you Zoro and you would've hopped right out of bed and started training again. You'd be killing yourself!" Chopper shouted back, his voice was rising slightly higher and with a tone of authority that the doctor rarely expressed.

"So what? You don't trust me?" Zoro retorted, but just as the words left his mouth Zoro knew something was wrong. Those weren't his words. That is to say, they came out of his mouth, his tone of voice, but they weren't his. He stared at the doctor, dumfounded for a brief second with his mouth slightly opened. Zoro's head throbbed slightly as he tried to figure out why he said that. _I… Didn't say that. But it seemed so right and true but… it feels wrong. Have I heard that phrase before? _He strained his brain, but couldn't remember anything and eventually that thought passed his mind as he returned to his present conversation with Chopper.

"No…no…" Chopper rebutted. Tiny tears welled up in the corner of his eyes, but Chopper bit his lip, holding them back. He didn't want to appear weak to Zoro. "That's not true. I trust you Zoro. I really do. But I know you and I know your fight to be the best, even when it threatens your life and I will not let you kill yourself for a few hours of training."

A brief silence interjected between the pair who just stared at each other with tense looks of confusion and fear. Zoro heaved out a large breath. Reason had snuck into him. _I can't expect him to understand. He's just doing his job as a doctor._

Zoro, whose legs had found their circulation and movement again, advanced towards Chopper, who shrunk back and squeezed his eyes closed for a brief second through fear. A sad look crossed Zoro's face at this. _Is he really scared of me...Shit._ He thought solemnly as he looked at his cowering crew mate.

Zoro gnawed the inside of his lip for a split second before placing one of his sturdy hands on Choppers waning shoulders. It tensed briefly for a second, his thick fingers ruffling through Choppers matted fur. Zoro could feel Choppers heartbeat, how fast and scared it was. _I'm not wrong_, Zoro thought sharply …_But I guess neither are you._

He withdrew his hand from Choppers shoulder and pushed open the door that leads out from the infirmary. It swung open quietly and Zoro followed it out, leaving a scared and even more confused Chopper in its wake.

**Authors Note: Two months for an update? Sorry. But I swear I have legit reasons. I'm a sophomore in high school and I've been going through a lot of stuff. One of my friends recently got in a car accident and her entire family died including her (R.I.P Morgan) and it's just been really harsh at school and in our town. And normally, our town in the safest place ever and really nice. And another sophomore at our school just got arrested for child molestation. It's just been a hard few months, so I apologize for lack of update. And if you read my other stories, updates will probably take just as long on those. **


	3. To Push and Punch Morals

**Authors Note: Did it seriously take me over 5 months to update this story? You are not hallucinating, it did indeed. I guess the only thing I can say is SORRY! But I'll try and push through my blocks and stumbles to get back to writing.**

**Slight Language in this chapter. But just "shit" and "damn" and "hell". That's about as cussing as I will go. I do not own one piece or the characters or yeah, you know the drill by now.**

_Italics mean thinking_

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"Trust me" A quiet voice pleaded inside of Zoro's head as the ground crumpled lightly with small mouse squeaks wherever Zoro walked. His heavy boots tore into the muddy and wooden deck, leaving tiny scruff marks against the distorted surface. Zoro gnawed on the inside of his lip with raw teeth. He was filled with hunger and yearning, but it was not his stomach that ached from emptiness. His gum lining split and a little splash of blood flooded into his mouth, leaking droplets over his tongue. Zoro felt a small bead of blood escape from the corner of his mouth and trail down the side of his chin. With a distant look, he raised his arm and wiped the crimson liquid with the backside of his tan hand. He glanced behind him briefly, seeing the wooden door swinging stiffly on its hinges. Zoro cast a brief look down, the picture of Chopper's fear and petrifaction still clear in his mind.

The metallic taste swished in his mouth for a few moments and Zoro savored the iron taste that left a fresh pallet of bitterness in his mind. He let out a disgruntled sigh, running his thick hands through mossy hair and clenching at the top, his fingers digging through the sea of green with frustration. The blood lusting taste soon grew sickening, like tin left out in the rain to rot. Zoro spit a small grouping of saliva on the ground, little specks of red dotting the white and bubbly mass.

"Oiy!" A voice shouted out in a husky tone, "What do you think you're doing?"

Zoro looked up at the voice with tired eyes. Sanjii was trouncing towards him, with hands thrusted in lumps in his suede pockets and a cigar, burning at the tip with a tiny trail of smoke drifting in the light breeze. Blonde hair swept over the left eye of the cook, but the other eye displayed an arrogant curl to it. Zoro did not bother with a reply, turning himself away from the stampeding chef.

"Marimo! Look at me when I'm talking to you" Sanjii called out after the desolate swordsman, quickening his pace. His shoes left sharp trotting sounds against the wood, ticking away on the deck.

"Screw off dart brow. What are you, my mother?" Zoro replied with a sharp twinge. His eyes flashed over to Sanjii with a sharp glare. _I'm not in the mood for this petty squabble. God, not now and not ever. _His gums still stung like chilled silver pressed against his flesh. His tongue rubbed the side of his mouth while giving Sanjii a downcast expression.

Sanjii chewed into the butt of his cigar and his eye shifted precariously under his swooped hair. "You planning on wiping' that up or do I need to mop it up with that batch of fuzz you call your hair?" Sanjii retorted sourly, pointing at the glob of spit that oozed on the floor. Zoro cast a short eye down but ignored the minuscule mess. Still turned, he proceeded to walk away without a care to the vicious look that Sanjii was carving in the back of his head. Sanjii's eye glared hard at Zoro, but an expression of confusion formed in his open mouth.

"I'm not done with you yet!" Sanjii dashed after the Marimo and placed his lemon-scented hand tightly on Zoro's shoulder, spinning him around stiffly. Zoro's head sharply turned and met Sanjii's exposed eye, just inches from his face. Zoro let out a musty breath, filled with the smell of grog and sleep.

The top of Zoro's lip perched up slightly and intensity shot from his eyes. He clenched his jaw and felt every muscle in his arm contract tightly, resisting the urge to unsheathe his sword and begin an attack. His fingers- muddied with dirt at the creases of flesh and slathered with dust and blood, held together by only the sweat which stained his skin- were held tightly together. Crusty finger nails dug into his wrinkled palms, twitching at the corners to keep from plowing his muscled arm into the crevice of Sanjii's face. He let out a demeaning snort, the air pressing out of his nostrils. He held his dark and emerald eyes level to Sanjii's deep blue one. But his normal calm and analytical green was replaced by a chilling feeling of angst, as though Sanjii were looking directly into a bee hive. There was neither joy nor any mocking sense of comrade. Sanjii could hear the bleating and the buzzing, with sounds of a swarm and yet, the bizarre sharpness of a shrieking beast.

"No, but I'm done with you." Zoro retorted with a disgusted expression. He shook his shoulder free of Sanjii's grasp with a blunt motion and continued down the deck, leaving a dumbfounded cook with his hand still resting in the air.

Zoro furrowed his brow as he walked away, shaking his head dimly from side to side with a few cracks in his neck. _Done with it._ He thought, his head pounded with confusion and ill directed rage. _It? Ah, I don't even know any more. The shit-cook was just getting on my last nerve. He better make himself god-damn useful for once and clean up the spit. Why does that little spat even matter? He's just a picky, lazy, woman conniving little leech. It's not my job. Not my problem._ Zoro huffed internally, dreading the sound of the cook's voice that still rang softly in his ears.

_ Ah, shit._ Zoro swore under his breath weakly after turning a corner and sitting down on a raggedy old barrel. _Damn Dart brow, just looking at him gives me a headache. _He peeked his head around the corner and, thankfully, saw the blonde haired cook heading in the opposite direction, with his pants crinkled and his feet dragged morosely across the floor. The ship stirred slightly and inside the barrel there was a faint sloshing. Zoro took a slight sniff and let out an aggravated grunt. _Booze- Just what I need._

Removing himself from the top seal of the barrel, Zoro soon went to work opening the contraption. He pried his meaty fingers under the shell of the top and leveraged it out, weaning it side to side with a little force. _I could've just broken the damn thing open._

Zoro stumbled around briefly, searching for a mug or a cup, something less animalistic than using his filthy hands. Eventually, he came across a dusty mug, with olden frost resting at the bottom. With a splash, Zoro dunked the glass under the ocean of booze. Pulling it up to his mouth, he chugged the frosty brew, with a little excess spilling off the frame of his chin. Another glass was subdued by Zoro, who set the mug down with a quenched relief.

He regained a seat against another barrel, which sloshed with the scent of pickles, crinkling the edges of his nose. Propping his elbow against his sturdy knee, he rummaged his fingers once again through his hair. _Ugh, first Chopper now Sanjii. I can't let my…my… anger? No, my shame. I lost, I was weak, and I was closer to death than I should've been in that last battle. And now I'm taking it on my crew. Sure, Sanjii deserves it, in a way I guess. _

Zoro clenched his eyes together, squeezing together the painful memories of the last battle. _I need to be stronger. Best swordsman in the world? That's damn far off if I avoid a little squabble with a wimpy love-sick baby._

He opened his eyes, unveiling the fresh scene of the ocean, rocking and turning as the tides crashed with a gentle and playful tone against the hull of the ship. Zoro let out a deep breath, exhaling a pocket of warm air into the cool afternoon. His breath was seen and wavered in front of his eyes for a few brief moments before fading. Zoro felt it go, but continued to watch the spot where it lingered, his eyes staring blanking out into the sea.

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_Stupid Marimo. Stupid, ugly, coarse spitting Bastard. He can't treat a lady right nor can he treat his own damn ship right._ Sanjii thought harshly as he stormed away from the angst swordsman. _Done with me? Ha! You can starve tonight, moss head. Excuse me for not wanting your putrid saliva pressed against the floors that grace the feet of such lovely ladies of Nami and Robin. You're not even worth their spit._

Sanjii's hand fumbled around angrily in his pocket, searching for a small lighter to reignite his cigar. As his fingers clenched the cool metal, Sanjii's eyes softened and looked back for a brief second. Down the corner, Sanjii could see Zoro sitting atop of a barrel, running his fingers through his hair with a look of confusion on his face. _His problem._ Sanjii thought dismissively.

But that didn't stop something inside from nagging at the corner of Sanjii's stomach. It pulled the lining and splashed around in the acid, troubling him with a feeling of uneasiness. Zoro and Sanjii weren't enemies. No, if anything, they were on the opposite end of the spectrum, more towards close friends. They didn't tell secrets and they didn't express any certain like for each other. But there was more underneath their daily bickering and nightly insult battles. They were comrades and friends, so much more than acquaintances because they understood each other. Sanjii understand Zoro's goals and his passions, and he felt it with every blow and block from the sword which the swordsman was constantly eager to swing at him. Sanjii would not admit it, nor would the mossy haired swordsman, but both respected each other more than they would ever let on. Their drive, their determination, their strength- Both knew that they were more similar than they would care to understand. And that is what troubled Sanjii. He knew something was wrong before he could dare to process it.

"Done with you…" Sanjii muttered under his breath as he sulked away, his feet itching for a little sparring with his normal tormentor. _You've been done with me a lot of times Marimo. But, I don't think you've ever meant it._

Sanjii squished the butt of the cigar tightly, rubbing his squeaky clean his fingers against his temple. _Stupid Marimo, making me worry. So what, you lost, ain't that a shame. Don't mess it into everybody else's business. You're stronger than that, and damned if you're not then you've been wasting everybody's time._

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*Later that night*

There was a fleck of garlic wedged in the corner of Sanjii's fingers. He picked and picked at the tiny fleck, tearing away the first layer of flesh trying to get it out. But it was crammed in tight, refusing to let go, clinging with its sweet odor. _Screw it_, Sanjii thought angrily, _just go right ahead and ruin the scent of my hands. Annoying little garlic._ He hissed internally, but took a deep breath and a strong smile stretched across his face. The cook picked up several plates, each loaded with gourmet meals, stacked with fish seared in the richest oils and tangerines hand picked from Nami's orchard. Sanjii balanced the dozen plates on his arms and waded out into the dining room.

The kitchen door swung quietly behind him, but every head in the room turned around, each eye staring at the food with a savory expression. But no announcement was quite as bold as a captain, with raven hair and wide eyes shaking in his seat.

"Food!" He exclaimed with an obnoxious grin. His rubber arm stretched out to snatch several plates from Sanjii's unprotected arms. Luffy's grubby hands fingered the plates with skill, drawing his arm back to him with a satisfied smile.

"Oiy! Luffy! Ladies first!" Sanjii belittled, coming up behind Luffy and swiping the food from under his reach. A disappointed frown snuck on Luffy's face as he watched his food drift away from him in the arms of the cook. His lower lip protruded slightly and he gave a whimpering puppy eyed look. Sanjii simply rolled his eyes in response.

The champagne haired chef gently delivered the food to Robin who took it with a quiet and subtle nod, sending the cook spiraling with love towards Nami, who decided she would not bother with a reply. She had her nose dug into a map and had one hand tracing lines around the borders of the stained map. Determination and focus honed in on the map and she distractedly reached for a fork to begin eating.

Despite Nami ignoring the cooks' effort, Sanjii didn't appear sulky. Rather the opposite, he finished handing out the steaming plates to the remainder of the crew before taking his seat a few down from Luffy. He gleefully looked around to see the crew members enjoying his cooking, and that alone was enough to bring a sense of pride to Sanjii. He was also happy because one moody, drunk, green haired misfit was missing from the table. Yet, just as he was picking up his fork, Luffy interrupted with his mouth brimming with the destroyed remains of dinner.

"Whab aboub Zobo?" The captain asked stupidly, choking down bits of meat and rice between breaths.

Sanjii looked down at his food, and back up at his captain with slight anger in his eyes. "What about Marimo? If he wants his food, let him come and get it." Sanjii then thrust his fork into the pile of steaming fish that was sizzling on his plate.

Luffy looked at his cook, who was crossly sawing his food with a steak knife. "No." Luffy retorted bluntly. Sanjii looked up at the captain, who sat folded back into his chair with his arms crossed against his chest. Sanjii's fork was frozen in mid entrance to his mouth before he responded, "Excuse me?'

"No. I'm not eating until Zoro comes here." Luffy answered stubbornly. His straw hat hung dimly over his eyes and he pouted his lower lip out.

"Well then, you can go get the moss head." Sanjii replied, hoisting his food into his mouth delicately and shooting Luffy an annoyed glance. But suddenly, there was a loud rumbling and Sanjii swore he could feel the room shake. Frantically, he looked around for the source, nearly leaping out of his chair. Instead, his eyes drew upon Luffy who was clutching his gurgling stomach. The captain looked up at the chef with pitiful eyes and whimpered, begging like a dog.

Another gurgle erupted from Luffy's belly, and it followed with a booming belch. Luffy continued to stare at the cook with wide, hopeful eyes. Sanjii rubbed his hand across his forehead in frustration before replying "Fine! Fine… I'll get that damn swordsman."

Luffy let out an ecstatic yelp and a tiny clap before emerging himself back into the realm of food, snarfing down both his plate and Frankie's. This lead to a slight fight and disagreement, Frankie was starving for his food and soon the two were going at it, with cries of laughter and encouragement from the rest of the table. Sanjii rolled his eyes solemnly as he headed out of the kitchen to go search for Zoro.

"Hey! Shit head!" Sanjii called out into the calming night sky with his hand cupped around his mouth. _That baka deserves to starve if you ask me. _Sanjii thought sourly. _But nooo, Luffy had to beg and whip out his stupid little puppy eyes. Honestly, nobody else would really care, let alone notice, if that man just missed one meal._

Sanjii shouted again, but there was no reply, only the silence and stillness of the waves which had settled into the night. Sanjii took in a deep breath of ocean air, letting the salty coolness fill his nose and mind, refreshing him. _Oh well. I guess I can tell Luffy I at least tried._

But Sanjii's exit was interrupted by the harsh sound of breathing. The heavy wheezing sounded like gasping and clawing for air, rather than the normal melodic snoring that Zoro was so famous for. _He's probably just choking on some of that toxic sword cleaning stuff…_ Sanjii thought. But despite his attempt to convince himself, Sanjii found himself drawn towards the huffing sound.

"Marimo?" He called out quietly, and a sense of fear clutched his heart. The night sky no longer seemed comforting. It had become ominous, with the feeling of dread and darkness lurking behind its mysterious black shades. Sanjii tried to ignore the pounding that shook his heart, and with all the confidence that he could muster, turned the corner to investigate the breathing noise.

Zoro was slumped over the pickle jar, his head crashing against his arm which was resting on the wooden railing. Sanjii let out a small sigh of relief and called out, once more this time with an air of authority "Zoro! Wake your damn drunk head up."

But the sleeping figure did not stir at the voice, nor did it seem any more aware that there was another presence nearby. Zoro's body shook and wavered, his loose shirt billowing in the frosty air.

"Oiy! I'm not calling you again. Get up." Sanjii berated, approaching the crumpled figure. Only as Sanjii got closer did he realize the inconsistency in Zoro's breathing. Some inhales were sharp and sporadic, clinging to the air it sucked in through his cavernous mouth. Yet others were slow and gaping, hollow and empty breathes. Zoro's breathing pattern alternated between the shallow and the clambering, his chest heaving in and out in a pathetic rhythm.

That's when Sanjii started to get worried. _Am I seriously wishing he would start snoring right now?_ He thought with a slight chuckle. But it quickly faded as Zoro's breathes grew louder and louder, with a powerful sense of weakness drawn to them. "Marimo…?" Sanjii asked quietly, feeling both cautious and concerned. The figure did not stir.

Sanjii looked back to the kitchen where he could still hear the bounding ruckus ring through the silence of where he stood. _Maybe I'll just head back and let Zoro sleep_. But as the memory of the day's previous incident flashed through Sanjii's mind, something in his gut warned him that Zoro wasn't sleeping. The chef approached the slumped figure, nervously reaching his hand to touch Zoro's shoulder.

"Zoro?" Sanjii questioned again as he placed his hand on the shaking shoulder of Zoro. The instant he made contact, the green haired figure spun around, his emerald eyes shining in the light. But the look he shot was not one of a hangover. Rather, it was fear, uncertainty. Zoro looked afraid.

Sanjii tilted his head curiously, removing his hand from the corner of Zoro's frame. But he was too late to withdraw himself.

Zoro leapt up from the barrel, knocking the pickle jar over, spilling its sticky green liquid over the surface of the ship's corridor. His arm shot out, pinning Sanjii against the wall. One hand was pressed tightly against Sanjii's neck and the other held Sanjii's left arm down. The blonde haired man was aghast, slammed against the wall and felt his oxygen supply ripped out of him. His feet barely touched the floor, balancing his weight on the tips of his suede shoes. Sanjii let out a gasp, followed by a weak choking noise, which murmured itself into "What the hell are you doing?"

But Zoro just stood there with his vicious hands curled tightly around Sanjii's neck, pressing him up against the wooden wall. The muscles in his arm flexed tightly, with veins and strength showing in every crease. He held in his breath, his chest swelling with rage and anger.

Sanjii squirmed slightly, trying to force his way out, but he found his legs growing weak from the lack of oxygen. His hands were pinned, his air was gone, and Sanjii looked into the burning eyes of Zoro. They were cloudy, shadowed over from the moonlight. Sanjii let out a small sound, it barely passed his choking lips: "Zoro".

But the clouded figure didn't hear the plea. It stood, stiff as a statue with his hand still thrust out, squeezing the neck of his chef. Zoro's body was rigid and his face was dark, his eyes set out from light and his face bearing a look of resentment. His dirty fingers began to close tightly and Sanjii floundered under his grasp, with little results. Sanjii could feel his lungs give out, drying out as raisins. Spots began to swarm the corners of his vision, followed by a creeping darkness at the sides.

And then Zoro let go. His hand released and the arm backed away, and the figure stumbled backwards, holding one hand to his head. Zoro's chest heaving and his eyes were hit by the light of the stars, scurrying across the surface of the deck in an attempt to take in his surroundings. There was a slight sense of panic when Zoro looked up and saw Sanjii collapsed on the ground, his legs sprawled out and his arms pointed out, his lungs expanded rapidly and his chest swelling just as quick. The blonde haired chef had his eyes squeezed shut, a look of pain and death on his face.

"…Sanjii?" Zoro asked faintly, staring at the weakened cook.

Sanjii's eyes shot open in response, a look that was plagued with both confusion and anger, all directed at Zoro. "What… were… you…. Doing…" He gasped out, still finding oxygen precious. Even after years of being aboard an ocean ship and being an expert swimmer, Sanjii could have done little to savor his oxygen and now, as he was receiving it all back, he felt his lungs expand and contract quicker than he ever imagined possible.

"I was just…" Zoro spoke dimly, his mind scrambling to remember the actions of his body. It came back slowly, the feel of the cooks' skin on his hand and the scent of fear and garlic in the air. _Garlic?_ Zoro thought confusingly to himself, but then pushed the thought aside and turned back to the furious chef. _Did I do that? No, I mean yes. That was me. Wimpy chef needs to get a grip; it couldn't have been that bad. _But Zoro couldn't quite convince himself.

"You shouldn't have snuck up on me!" Zoro spat out at Sanjii defensively. _Self- Defense and all that crap. Also, I'm pretty sure it's common knowledge even for a dumbass cook like Sanjii to not wake a sleeping swordsman._

"Snuck up on you?" Sanjii repeated with a mocking tone. "A herd of elephants and Luffy could have snucken up on you!"

Zoro's mind drew a blank at a reply, so instead Zoro did what Zoro never does: he ran. Well, not ran, but sulked away with his back turned away from Sanjii. He hissed out the front of his teeth and a deep growl was heard from him. _That damn cook. I don't trust him._ Zoro thought darkly. _Trust him… Ha, I don't even trust myself any more._

Sanjii wobbled up to his feet and sprinted towards the leaving Zoro. "I'm not done with you yet!" But right as the words left his mouth Sanjii froze. Those were almost the same words he had said to Zoro earlier that day.

And just as the words reached Zoro's ears, it only took a flashing second for Zoro to return right in front of Sanjii. His fist cocked out and he plowed it, right into the crevice of Sanjii's nose and cheek.

A sickening crack rang disturbingly through the air as Sanjii was flown backwards by the force. Zoro's knuckle connected with all the force he could muster at the moment and a little trail of blood dripped off of his hand. But Zoro didn't even turn to see his result, for the moment his blow to the cook's face struck; he turned and disappeared down another corridor of the ship.

Sanjii was frozen, in shock and rage, but mainly shock. His hand coddled the bruised indent of his face. He could already feel the swelling begin and the blood rushing to the leaking nose. But Sanjii didn't move, he just let the crimson blood flood out of his nose, pouring with such abundance that it was a surprise he didn't simply pass out. His face stung, hit with not only the force of a grown man, but also with the shock of a comrade and the pain of betrayal.

Sanjii's mouth gaped open as blood drooled off to the side of his face, running like a river down the side of his nose. He watched Zoro depart, not even mustering to say a word. _He hit me_. Sanjii thought bluntly. He was stunned; his heart pounding and fear overwhelming the feeling of shock.

Cautiously, Sanjii stood up, his head swimming and spinning due to the loss of blood. _How do I explain this mess to Chopper?_ And then like lightning, a horrible thought struck his mind. _Luffy. Oh god. This is his crew, his family… How do I tell him?_

With that thought echoing in Sanjii's head, the blonde cook stood up and proceeded towards the nearest restroom. He was slumped over, his hands wobbling weakly on his knees as he stumbled towards the bathroom.

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_I punched him_. Zoro thought. _I punched him._ He repeated that over and over again, staring down at his massive hands. _I wasn't angry at him. No, no, no. But I punched him. But it just felt right. But it was wrong. Even Sanjii doesn't deserve that. Shit, what the hell did I do?_

The moss haired man sat in the corner of the ship, hidden by boxes of maps and foods and silence. He was crouched on the floor, his knees curled up to his chest and his arms crossed over. His head was hanging down, drooping into his thighs. _Sanjii. Annoying, agonizing, frivolous cook. How many times have I swung at him? Was that anger too? No, never have I actually hurt him. But I clocked him, decked him, square in the kisser. What kind of a nakama am I? I can't protect myself, let alone protect them… But no, I think it's something more. My patience and my strength with this crew, it is wearing thin. What they all see as help, I only see as a hindrance. A burden. Are they holding me back? Am I to concerned about our 'friendship' to prevent myself from going forward? If I can't exceed these pathetic little boundaries, how can I exceed Mihawk? _

Zoro saw it, his sword plunged through Mihawks breast, that long awaited blood spilling out as he became the worlds strongest swordsman. But in his image, he was alone. No neighborly Chopper coming up to fix his wounds, nor no Usopp, preparing to boast about how he had once trained Zoro. Nothing. Nobody. But it was what he wanted and he'd swear that the promise he once made was worth more than everything else in the world.

Suddenly, his mind snapped away from his future and returned to his dooming fist. _What does it even matter anyways? Everybody on the crew knows I have an issue with that skirt chasing fool. Even ignorant Luffy recognizes that. Luffy._

_ "_Oh God. Luffy." Zoro said out loud. _I'm supposed to be his first mate. I'm supposed to be an example, of nakamaship, of strength. _

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Sanjii peered around the corner, searching for Zoro. The cook was never one to talk; words would never solve his problems. But he couldn't use force against Zoro. And Sanjii needed to find out what exactly was going on in the scrambled brain of the swordsman.

He meandered around the top floor of the ship, checking rooms and little passages he never paid much attention to. But no green haired man was to be found. Frustrated, Sanjii decided to go to the only place he felt comfortable: surrounded by food. He wandered into the storage room, finding the door already creaked open a tad. _Must have been Luffy, stealing some meat again. I wish that he would learn that you can't eat raw meat. Well he can, but that doesn't mean that he should._

Sanjii propped himself up against a box and ruffled his orderly hair with his fingers in frustration. He took deep, wafting breathes, inhaling the scents of possibilities: of spices and meat and vegetables and fruits unseen. Safety tasted as sweet as those foods to Sanjii. He reached up and wiped the drying crust of blood on his face, following with a look of disgust as the red liquid stained his shirt.

"Oh god, Luffy." He heard a voice echo through the food filled room. Sanjii twitched slightly, recognizing Zoro's voice, filled with a softness he hadn't heard that day. In fact, he had rarely heard Zoro speak with such a contemplative tone of voice. _Luffy. So we both have the same idea._ Sanjii thought. He felt the urge to turn around and find Zoro, but there was something about the eerie silence which held him pressed to the floor.

Zoro let out a huff, sulking down deeper into his position. _No. I can't do this to myself. I hit Sanjii, I can't take that back. I did what I thought was right. Luffy does not dictate my morals. Nobody does. He has his ideals and I have mine. That's what separates us. __  
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Sanjii sat quietly, waiting for some other noise to be heard, but he could barely even make out the steady breathing of Zoro. After several minutes, Sanjii decided to leave the swordsman to his peace and got up to leave, trying his hardest to make no noise. He sneaked through the crack in the door and exited, wandering back towards the kitchen.

Zoro slowly felt his thoughts drown out, dripping slower and slower into his mind. Within no time, he was fast asleep with a wrinkled expression on his face and his arms crossed, slouching back into a barrel.

Meanwhile, Sanjii traversed the deck, making his way back to the dining room. Before entering, he inspected himself in a dingy mirror that needed polishing. Through his reflection he could see that the blood had stopped rushing and he had managed to wipe it all off. His cheek swelled up under his eye, sticking out in a firm pocket. Gingerly, he reached his hand up to his felt and felt the pulsing lump- it burned and sore, filled with dense pain.

_How do I explain this…?_ Sanjii contemplated, throwing out options left and right in his head. He could tell them the truth, that Zoro was having a tantrum. But Sanjii knew that would create an uncomfortable tenseness between the entire crew, a feeling of distrust, and would worsen Zoro's anger. He also mulled over the idea of finding Zoro and forcing him to tell the crew, this would keep Zoro safe from any mistrust. Yet, Sanjii knew Zoro was too proud and strong headed to ever admit a mistake. So finally, Sanjii chose the least practical and least believable option. _I fell. That's all. Pretend that I had a clumsy moment. Fell on one of Usopps tools lying around. Yeah, that'll work. Damn, that shitty swordsman owes me for this._

So with that lie swirling around Sanjii's head, the unconfident chef headed into the dining room. The scene had not changed much in the short time he had been gone. However, Luffy gave up on mooching Frankie's food and had migrated towards Usopp, who was trying his hardest to sneak food out from the marksman's nose. Which, considering the size of Usopps nose, was a lot harder than it sounded.

Sanjii resumed his seat at the table and not a single head turned his way, with the exception of a raven haired teen. "Did ya find him?" Luffy asked curiously. Sanjii shot Luffy a look, _Yeah I found him, but don't you think I would've brought him with me? _Instead of voicing his thoughts, Sanjii just shook his head silently and Luffy took that as a sign to dive back into his food.

"Sanjii, what happened to your cheek?" Chopper asked, noticing the swollen lump that had formed on Sanjii's face. Subconsciously, Sanjii's hand bolted to his face before he said "Oh it's nothing. I must've just gotten bruised when I fell looking for Zoro." Chopper tilted his head to the side curiously for a brief moment before accepting Sanjii's answer and dismissing the subject.

But across the table, Usopp sat, his food stolen by Luffy, with his finger rested underneath his nose and a concerned expression on his face. _I'm the king of liars. And something just doesn't seem right about what Sanjii said…_ The long nosed marksman thought. However, his thoughts were quickly interrupted by a shouting ruckus on the other end of the table as Brooke knocked over a cup, spilling liquid all over Nami's precious maps. With the gingers fury igniting and making for an interesting spectacle, Usopps interest in Sanjii waned and his thought took a back seat to the action.

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"_I did what I thought was right. Luffy does not dictate my morals. Nobody does. He has his ideals and I have mine. That's what separates us. __"_

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**Authors Note: Longest Chapter I've ever written. 6000 words! That's almost as long as both the other chapters combined… Funny, a few years ago I tried to do Nanowrimo (write a book in a month) and I couldn't even get 10,000. Oh how times have changed. Anyways, once again, I'm very sorry for the long delay. But it's summer so I'm hoping to have a new chapter out somewhat more frequently than every 5 months. Stay with me!**


	4. Defining Self

**Authors Note: I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT FANFICTION! I PROMISE. Every day I literally tell myself I need to write the next chapter. Every day. But I procrastinate so bad I just don't do it. But since it's fall break I am going to try my very hardest to update all my stories. I will one day finish these, I promise!**

**I had to reread my entire story and all I have to say is wow. I wrote that? That chapter 3? That thing was just brilliant… How am I supposed to replicate that after my 5 months of laziness? Oi… Review and let me know how I did**

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_No. I can't do this to myself. I hit Sanjii, I can't take that back. I did what I thought was right. Luffy does not dictate my morals. Nobody does. He has his ideals and I have mine. That's what separates us._

That thought repeated itself like an annoying parrot in the back of Zoro's mind while he slept. _Who defines me? I do. Not another's opinion of me. Whose standards do I meet? Mine. Not Luffy's._ His thoughts swirled around this topic. Surprisingly, when Zoro was resting was when he did his best thinking. There was no conflict of others noise or others opinion sinking into his ideas. It was just him.

Which is why the more that Zoro thought about his assault on Sanjii, the more it began to bother him. It was not guilt, no, not that sinking feeling that lurches in the pit of ones stomach that bothered him. Rather, it was the lack of guilt. The fact that after he had done something so conceived as wrong and traitorous, there was no feeling of betrayal.

_Why am I so set on convincing myself it was right…? Why am I so damn concerned about that one action that I have to tell myself it was not a mistake? _

_ Maybe this is it. I've been pushed so far by this crew, but has it been in the right direction? Have I really been pushed towards my dreams, or simply towards friendship? _

_ I questioned leaving when Usopp committed his little act of treason. But, shit, it's still on my mind. Maybe I've become so fed up with shitty cooks and overpowering, greedy orange haired witches that I've lost sight of my dream._

In the silence of the night he could hear the rambunctious shots and screams of the crew. He was certain that Sanjii had returned to his kitchen. Not even a bloody nose could distract that man from his precious women. _I wonder if he told Luffy what happened. God knows that dart brow would do anything to avoid looking bad in front of Nami and Robin._

_ But what if he did tell Luffy? I'm sure that buffoon of a captain wouldn't think much of it. Just one of our little brawls that got out of hand. But that's Luffy for you, trusting as an ignorant child._

The hard wood of the deck began to dig into the corners of Zoro's shoulder blades. _Even through his naïve stance on the world, he has always been there for us. _Zoro adjusted his position, curling his back up against the hallway wall he had wandered into.

_When in doubt, Luffy was always there._

_ But, that's not such a great thing. Why push myself to my limits, to the very boundaries of life, when I can just trust that if I fail Luffy will be there. I have begun to not fear failure as I've become reliant on that goof. Shit... My reliance on this crew. I trust in them too much to compensate for me, and I'm suffering for it._

_ They are making me weak._

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*The next morning*

The crew was as lively as ever in the morning, shouts of raising sails and of staying away from certain objects filled the calm morning air. Zoro stood perched up in the crows nest, staying as far away as possible from the obnoxious commotion going down below.

He could still smell the bacon from that morning's breakfast wafting through the air. Zoro had chosen to not have any, straying from anything that had to do with Sanjii. He was neither fearful, nor concerned about the blonde haired cook. Rather, he was, as he had expressed earlier 'Done with him'.

The cook had seemed to fade from the crew to him, blending into the background as just another person.

The commotion below began to escalate, swelling over the lower deck. Their voices rang through the air like sharp bells and squealing pigs, begging for attention.

In fact, the entirety of the crew began to rag on the last nerves of Zoro. He looked down over the frustrating scene.

There was Chopper, bluffing his way through another compliment and swaying with an air of false glamour. It was disgusting how one could not have enough pride to be able to accept their strengths and abilities. Instead, they relished the thought of only finding any pride in the minimalistic appreciation of others.

And then there was Usopp, with his long nose protruding into the air with a sense of false authority; always pretending to be the strongest, to be the wisest, yet falling short on all accounts. A pretentious and ignorant fool whose skills were worth little in the scheme of battle. He was babbling on about some story that he had conjured up. With every lie that flew out of his mouth, his nose seemed to inch forward towards the sky.

Nami sat in a lavish chair with her orange hair shifted over an old, torn up map that had far more tear stains than coffee stains. Her slender frame and innocent face were a perfect reflection of her deceptive nature. Zoro thought about the piles of money that he had accumulated due to her 'interest'. Greed was her sin. She wanted everything and craved nothing less than material possessions. Yet, she clung to friendship- one of the most intangible objects. And it was that which made her so frustratingly weak. She could not fight nor believe in herself without the aid of her precious friends.

Robin was nearby, her head also crammed into varying pieces of paper. Silent, strong, but an entire mystery in herself. She always loomed over the crew, never quite fitting in with the rest of their horseplay. She was serious and had a deadly sense of authority that clung to her. To Zoro it was slightly sickening, how she acted as though she knew everything and took elaborate efforts to hide things from the crew.

There were the two new jokers of the crew, making a mockery of everything that being a pirate meant. A perverted skeleton ranging around the crew with an instrument in hand and a Speedo wearing cyborg, with more crazy attributes than a normal person could ever handle. It seemed that with each addition the crew was getting less and less serious and more focused on finding the stupidity of the world and capturing it on the ship. Zoro was fine with a lovesick cook, he could deal with Pinocchio nose, but it seemed that Luffy was getting worse and worse at judging a persons character.

_Ah. Back to Luffy._ Zoro thought solemnly.

He looked down on the lower deck, seeing pieces of food flying from the stretchy and smiling face of the captain. Luffy launched himself on top of Usopp, disrupting the long nosed boy's attempt to actually set sail. Zoro would normally at least chuckle at the scene as Franky attempted to remove the clingy captain from Usopp's waist. But he couldn't even break out a hint of a smile. It all seemed so… pointless.

So pointless and pathetic. _How much time are we wasting? How much time am I wasting with these… buffoons? Is it worth it?_

And then suddenly, there was a shout, a yelp, a scream from down below.

Usopp, finally being untangled from the frivolous captain, stood with his finger pointing towards the island, his mouth still open with the holler of a scream.

Zoro glanced up at the island, only to find the sweetly green tropical setting now burning. Flames licked over the evergreen trees and rushed over the opposite side of the island.

Deep red screeched over the hills and bright orange shot over the tops, lighting the morning with an intense heat.

Smoke began to linger in the air above the small village that the crew had visited earlier. The ship stood silent and they could hear the distant screams and shouts from the villagers. Birds crowed and shrieked, flying up in a black swarm from the location near the fire.

The crew just stared at the burning mass of land. The brilliant red flames swept over the forest, smacking their lips at the wooden giants. The sky turned a musty grey over the village and the scent of ash, fear, and pure despair found itself in the air.

"Oh no…" Chopper muttered quietly, watching the flames grow higher and higher.

"What happened?" Usopp asked, not really expecting anybody to answer. His eyes watered slightly from the ash.

Luffy picked up his straw hat from where it had fallen off from tackling Usopp. He placed it roughly over his head, tilting downwards from the sunlight. "We're going to go find out."

Nami held out her hand and grabbed Luffy's arm, holding it tightly. "Are you sure? This isn't our place to go investigate."

Luffy just stared back as a response. Nami nodded her tousled head softly. His look of solid integrity was more powerful than any words he could offer her. "Alright. Let's get going then." She said.

And with faces riddled with confusion the straw-hat crew descended from their docked boat and headed towards the burning flames.

*Franky and Brooke stayed behind to guard the ship*

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_We're wasting more time_ Zoro thought darkly. _Always getting involved in other people's business, that's Luffy for you. _He let out a sigh as he followed behind the rest of the crew.

_They all walk as if we are saviors. How many stinking places have we saved? This is NOT our job._ He rubbed his fingers against his temples. All he could feel was frustration against his crew. There was no sympathy or concern for the village.

As the crew approached the reeking scent of ash, they saw a distant group of figures lingering in the shadows. The crew stopped in the clearing, crying out to who they assumed were survivors of the fire. Chopper rushed towards the group of people, preparing to help any of those with burns or injuries.

But halfway through the field he just stopped- In mid step. His paw quivered above the ground, frozen and rooted as a statue.

"Chopper? What's wrong?" Usopp shouted out to the frozen reindeer. The rest of the crew advanced to where Chopper stood.

"I can't move." Chopper said quietly at first. But then panic set in and he began to repeat it rapidly "I can't move. I can't move. Oh my gosh Ican'tmovecan'tmovecan'tmove…" As if saying with all the uncertainty in the world would make it fade away.

"Chopper! Chopper calm down!" Came assorted cries from the crew as they rushed towards him. Yet the same thing happened to them.

Their breathing quickened as they noticed their legs no longer responded. It was as if they were no longer connected to their body. Their legs were weighted and there was no amount of will power capable of moving them.

The icy feeling of no control mixed with the burning hot frustration and the pure fear and anguish as to why. Together, these feelings made their bodies burn, a volcano of confusion erupting. The entire crew was gathered near Chopper, surrounded by an air of confusion.

None of them could move. They felt dense pressure on their limbs and their heart pounded in their chests. "What is happening?" They asked of each other, but nobody knew the answer. Nami grew furious while Chopper shrunk back in fear.

Their confusion and panic swirled around them as the group of figures in the distance stepped out of the clearing.

Shaggy blonde hair was lit by the light of the fire and a massive pink boa was draped over his body. Bright red sunglasses reflected the glare of the fire into the eyes of the straw hat pirates, who suddenly became sharply aware of whom the figure was.

"Doflamingo." Luffy said bluntly. He let out a tense breath.

The figure let out a broad smile which consumed most of his face. Doflamingo let out an abrasive laugh, filling the stiffly silenced air.

(**A/N: I don't know much about Doflamingo's powers or his character. While writing this it hasn't been explained clearly in the manga, so I apologize in advance if it seems off**)

Doflamingos eyes fluttered over the petrified crew, resting briefly on each member until his eyes deviated to Zoro. Zoro stared back into the eyes, with no fear or resistance as in his other crew members. There was no even any excitement as in the eyes of Luffy. Instead, Zoro's eyes were firmed into a questioning gaze. They were a piercing green with not confusion, but interest.

Doflamingos smile grew even larger, his lips curling over his pearled white teeth. Zoro thrust his chin slightly in the air, a sign of strength.

_ He seems… strangely familiar. I have seen his posters, he is another supernova. But there is something more. That fucking disturbing smile, I just can't place it. _

"Hello Straw Hats!" Doflamingo exclaimed, spreading his arms wide open over the field.

"You did this." Luffy said bluntly. "You attacked that village."

Doflamingo chuckled with an air of superiority "No. You'll find they attacked each other. Quite a delicious little fight. I was just… watching." He remarked as he wiggled his fingers around, as if feeling the puppet strings still attached to the villagers.

Robin's eyes narrowed on Doflamingo, taking in every element of his being she could. While working with Crocodile she had interaction, though minimal, with this warlord. She forced herself to recall every detail, every power, and every trick that the pink feathered man had up his sleeve. He was cruel and cunning, but a very selfish man. To him the world was a game and he was determined to come out on top. Yet, he was the most oddly trusting man with a great respect for strength. Any person power he saw, he would attempt to claim it for his own. It made sense, what with his power for control. Strength was the only thing he truly admired and if a pirate didn't have that, then he was nothing to Doflamingo. If you are beaten, than you are disposed. The only thing worth anything was strength. Nothing else mattered.

_Sort of like Zoro_ Robin thought quickly, before shaking her head of the thought. Zoro cared about more than strength. He was their nakama. She furrowed her brow, trying to refocus on Doflamingo.

Puppet Master. That's what they had called him when he was far enough away. He could control another person's body, but not their thoughts. He could make two best friends charge towards each other with sadness in their eyes. He could make a comrade turn his sword and swing it against his friends, all the while shouting to run and hide. _But I had no idea he could restrain all of us at once. He may be powerful, but he can only hold on for so long._

And suddenly, Robin's prediction came true. There was a feeling of simultaneous relief that fell over every crew member. The crew heaved a unanimous sigh of relief, feeling their own blood and control rush back into their toes and fingertips.

Nami turned her head and saw Luffy, radiating a sense of anger and rage that is only rarely seen. His teeth gritted against each other, grinding with rage.

"Why?" Luffy asked quietly. But then his voice rose, shouting at Doflamingo. "Why? They were nice people! They were innocent!"

Doflamingo's smile dropped slightly as he leaned forward, craning his neck curiously forward as if he were talking to a child. "Because," He took a shallow breath, building the suspense. "I was bored."

"Bastard!" Luffy swore as he pressed down on his floppy sandals and leaped towards the man with his fist stretched and cocked. Halfway through his swing however, Doflamingo re activated his devil fruit power. Luffy halted in mid air, his fist lingering feet away from the forehead of Doflamingo.

The blonde haired foe simply twiddled his fingers to the left and suddenly, Luffys punch leapt and unleashed itself on an unsuspecting tree, breaking the branch and sending harsh recoil back at Luffy, who took it roughly and shot back 15 feet to where his crew was.

"And it's not just that I was bored." Doflamingo said with a more serious tone. "It would be wasteful to just let an opportunity to test my skills go by. In order to be stronger lives and silly little bonds need to be sacrificed."

At this he shot a look over to Zoro, the only one of the straw hats not faithfully gathered around their collapsed leader. Doflamingo grinned. Zoro only stared back with a strange intensity to his eyes.

_Why does he keep looking at me? Fricking creep. _Zoro thought.

Luffy was getting up and dusting himself off with a rare look of seriousness strewn across his features. Usopp cracked his knuckles angrily and Sanjii lit a cigarette, poised preciously at the tip of his lips.

"Oh now really, it would be boring to fight all of you." Doflamingo replied to their challenging stances. He flicked his oddly manicured hand at them dismissively. "I could force you all to fight each other and this would be over quickly. What fun would that be?"

"What happened to not wanting to waste an opportunity?" Zoro asked. The other straw hats looked at him, confused. His tone was not angry or challenging. It was curious. He wasn't trying to attack Doflamingo or make him angry. Zoro seemed genuinely interested in the answer.

And because of that, Doflamingo began to grin again.

"Because, Zoro, I am not the only one who needs to grow stronger. I value the strength of my crewmates and I won't hog all of the opportunities to improve."

And with that he gestured to his side where several other figures emerged from the shade of the burning trees. There were five of them, each powerful in their own respects.

Doflamingo glanced casually back at them and simply stated "Go."

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And within seconds they dispersed, spreading out and reaching the straw hat crew who were prepared and ready for the assault. Luffy unleashed a barrage of fists at one of the foes, who promptly blocked it by grabbing the fists and clenching tight, swinging Luffy into the depths of the forest. The foe then chased after the airborne captain, darting in the bushes.

Another enemy, with muscles bulging over his torso charged towards Sanjii, who swung his leg up at the foe, but only ending with a dull thud against the muscular skin. Sanjii stared at it briefly as his leg just rested against the mans flesh. The man smiled and gripped Sanjii's black leg tightly and tossed him towards the burning flames and followed in pursuit.

Chopper and Usopp tried to act brave but when they saw the man charging like a bull towards them, they huddled together and did what they did best: ran. And the man followed them, with a stupid grin and the chase began.

Robin and Nami were subdued to a more, sumo wrestle approach. The man rushing towards them was less rushing, but more waddling towards them. Nami reached for her climatactic, only to find it was left behind on the ship. Robin attempted to push the man away with a multitude of arms, but they only managed to sink into his fat rolls. And as the fat man approached, he herded them away from the clearing and into the forest.

And soon all that was left was Zoro.

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"Ooof" Luffy grunted as he felt his back snap against a tree trunk. He had fallen through the canopy and stood up, dusting the leaves and dirt off him. Shaking off his straw hat he looked up and saw a man rampaging towards him with his arm pulled back, ready to punch. _Oh great_ Luffy thought.

The raven haired teen leapt out of the way of the fist, just in time. The punch connected the tree, shattering it in half and sending splinters of bark spraying out. Luffy looked at the damage with a slightly excited look growing on his face. The man cracked his knuckles with a sharp and booming sound.

"David." The man said, almost politely. He was lanky, not necessarily strong looking but no pushover either. He had tattoos covering his left arm, which was skinny but tight enough that you could see the indents of muscles bulging out. With one look, Luffy was able to size him up as being fast. Dangerously quick.

Luffy nodded in response to the man's name, acknowledging the start of the fight. David made the first move, leaping out again at Luffy with both of his arms pulled back. He caught up quickly to Luffy and unleashed his rapid assault of punches. Luffy turned his neck and back sharply to avoid being struck. The barrage seemed to last a while, with David's punches never quite slowing down, but getting softer.

One grazed the check of Luffy and the captain saw this as an opportunity. He wound his fist up and punched David right into the gut, sending the man backwards several steps and ending the fury of fists.

David looked up and let out a small smile as he seemingly vanished from sight. Luffy blinked and looked around dumfounded, scanning the trees and dense forest for any sign of the man.

Suddenly, there was a thwack as Luffy felt a blow connect to the back of his head. Luffy stumbled forward and blindly swung behind him, aiming at a figure that was no longer there. He let out a small ouch, until he felt another blow brace him, this time from the front. Luffy fell backwards from the force. But when he opened his eyes there was no opponent there. Luffy quickly stood back up, but just as soon he felt another punch topple him in the back of the leg. Once again, David was no where to be seen.

"You sure are quick." Luffy said as he tried to avoid the rapid and invisible attacks.

There was a small wisp of wind that Luffy felt brush against his check. A hand followed, launching in that direction. Luffy's battle instincts kicked in and he was able to tilt his head slightly and the punch shot right past him. Luffy clenched his fist and turned away, preparing to retaliate, but David was still not there.

Another breeze near Luffy's cast. And just like the last, Luffy slightly scooted his leg and the punch missed. And again, another little wind near his stomach. Just a little stretch and punch was useless against Luffy.

"Humph" David grunted. "So you've figured it out a little, haven't ya?"

Luffy smiled with slight pride. He didn't really realize the effect of the wind, but his experiences in battle had shaped him to react timely.

"It doesn't really matter." David cooed. "You can't hit me. What a lovely little stalemate."

"Stalemate?" Luffy asked rhetorically. "I don't think so."

Luffy shot his arms out in opposite directions and grasped two strong trees , forming a straight line. He then began to rotate his body, dislocating his shoulders and wrapping his arms around himself. Soon he looked like a child's swing that had been spun around one too many times. Luffy smiled brightly as he let go of the trees.

The pressure from his twisting spun out and his arms began a literal tornado, whipping rapidly in a circular fashion, clearing everything within a 50 feet radius of Luffy. The strength knocked down nearby trees and Luffy felt his arm whip an unsuspecting David in the face, following with several more circular blows. Luffy's arms spun and spun until there was no more pressure left in his twisting.

Luffy rolled his shoulders and looked down at David, who was covered in bruises and broken trees from Luffys spinning assault.

With only that look back, Luffy took off back towards the field, eager to fight Doflamingo.

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0-0-0-0 (**A/N I don't really know the names of any of their moves. Sorry**)

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Sanjii rubbed his coarse shin, feeling a slight indent from where his kick had connected with the man. It was like kicking a steel wall. But Sanjii didn't have much time to think of the damage when he looked up and through the bushes he saw the man approach him. The man's shoulders were bulging out and his chest stuck out with pride and power.

He stopped about ten feet from Sanjii, and studding his feet into the ground said in a bellowing voice, "Marian."

"Excuse you?' Sanjii said back with a confused look.

The man glared harshly and shook his head. "No, you fool. That is my name. Marian."

_Nice to know_ Sanjii thought as he fiddled with the cigarette wedged between his teeth.

And without warning Marian dashed towards Sanjii. He was not particularly fast as every step shook unevenly on the ground, but he was no snail either.

Sanjii raised his knee in defense, planning to thrust the man away from him. But Marian just continued straight forward, blindly charging like a juggernaut. The two connected in a crash and Sanjii was thrown back several feet. His leg rammed back into his thigh with a slight crunching noise. The cook landed harshly on his butt, bouncing several feet in addition to the blow.

Sanjii quickly looked up to see Marian continuing in his assault, leaving Sanjii no room to plan. Marian swung down his fist, but Sanjii rolled out of the way and the hand plowed into the earth, leaving a deep dent in the soil.

_Alright, note to self, don't let that shit head's punches hit._ Sanjii thought, eying the punches impact on the ground. Sanjii spun up, twirling his feet in a forceful tornado. The kicks connected in Marians gut, but the built man did not flinch. Rather, he flexed, revealing a set of stone hard muscles which Sanjii's kicks barely damaged. Sanjii's leg lingered over the mans stomach for a second to long. Marian gripped them and picked Sanjii up, dangling him upside down. With his other massive arm he proceeded to plow Sanjii in the chest. His punches had less force, but Sanjii swung helplessly in air like a punching bag.

Then Marian aimed a blow at Sanjii's face, connecting harshly in the same spot that Zoro had assaulted the night before. Sanjii let out a large gasp and his hand shot up to his face, feeling the blood begin to flow. But as he was dangling upside down, the blood rushed to the spot but fell backwards into his brain, creating a nauseous feeling and blurring Sanjii's vision.

"You bastard" He swore at Marian. With his free leg that was not being held, he swung at Marians chin, connecting with the jaw and thrusting his leg upwards. Marian's jaw rammed into his teeth, rattling his head and knocking him backwards. He was dazed just enough for Sanjii to swing again, pushing the man backwards even more and causing him to relinquish his grip on Sanjii's leg.

Both men fell to the ground with loud thuds. However, Sanjii quickly leapt up and used the opportunity to analyze his surroundings. Using his one eye he looked around at the scenery, taking in the forest and trying to find some advantage that he could use against Marian. Nothing stood out immensely to him and Sanjii panicked slightly when he saw the large lug of a man coming out of his daze.

"Shit" He swore under his breath. Sanjii frantically flexed himself, readying himself for the fight. But then the odd sensation of heat crept over his body. A burning sensation lingered on his back and Sanjii dared to turn around briefly to find the source.

The two men were close to the fire. Not just close, but dangerously close. Sanjii saw the burning and brilliant flames close behind him, sweeping over branches and trees, roaring like an all consuming giant. The glint of the fire caught Sanjii's eye and he could help but stare at the wall of fire, no less than ten feet behind him. _How the hell did I not notice that before?_

Sanjii looked back over at Marian, who was regaining his composure. Blood was dripping down the sides of his mouth and he looked as if his jaw was dislocated or broken. It swung loosely and was barely hinged off the side of Marian's face. The man's nostrils were flared and he looked enraged.

_Great_ Sanjii thought. He felt down his ribs and felt that one of them was cracked due to the man's earlier punches. Sanjii looked back at the fire and back at Marian when he was struck with an idea.

Sanjii whipped off his black jacket and tied it around the shin of his right leg. He let out a regretful sigh and dashed off towards the flames.

Within in seconds Marian was behind him, refusing to let his prey escape. But soon the light of the fire grew intense and confusing, bounding from every direction as the pair descended into the hearth of the burning village. Fire stood up on all sides, creating a perfect wall around Marian, who looked around confused. In his dazed state he could not find Sanjii. In fact, he couldn't see any light or objects. His sight was clouded by the light of the fire and the smoke that lingered tightly in the air. Even the heat began to throw off his sense of balance.

"Where are you, you coward?" Marian shouted. Spinning in all directions, calling out to the burning trees.

And suddenly, Sanjii dropped down from on top of him, descending from an ash covered tree. His right leg was ablaze with flames and Sanjii sunk it into the chest of Marian.

The kick dug in deeply and Marian flinched back from the force. Sanjii's leg slammed into Marian's chest and Marian fell backwards onto the burning ground.

And then there was fire. Marian first felt the heat, but he thought nothing of the pain. He was too focused on the cook resting on top of him with his knee sunk into his chest. But when he looked down, preparing for retaliation, he was the cook gone. Marian attempted to stand up and chase after Sanjii but the burning stopped him. He looked down again and saw the cook's jacket, on fire, crawling over his skin.

Marian pushed the jacket off of him, but it was too late as the fire from the jacket had already spread onto the all the fine hairs on Marians body. Marian shot up, trying to shake the flames from his body. But they spread and spread, crawling over every inch of his skin with a greedy composure.

Sanjii watched from a nearby bush. Marian was panicking, spinning in every direction and trying to fight the flames like a wild animal. Sanjii looked down, not bearing to watch the man burn. Sanjii took out a fresh cigarette and lit it with the fire raging next to him. He turned away from the shrieking man, placed the cigarette in between his lips and walked away from the burning haze.

"Damn" Sanjii muttered sadly. "I really liked that jacket too"

And with that, Sanjii headed back to the clearing, calling for Nami and Robin.

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0-0-0-0- (**A/N Okay, I don't really understand Choppers abilities so I'm kind of just leaving it out. Sorry. If any reviewer wants to give me a quick summary, go for it**!)

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And there was Chopper and Usopp, running while holding each other. They weaved masterfully through the dense foliage, desperately searching for some place to hide. Eventually they rested upon a massive tree, nearly ten feet in diameter with a narrow hole carved inside it. Usopp and Chopper launched themselves into the hiding spot. They threw their hands over each others mouth in order to silence their large, gasping breaths. Soon silence fell over the area.

And then they heard Doflamingo's man angrily stampeding through the area, his breaths overpowering with intensity. Every step he took vibrated through the tree and Usopp shook, clinging to the matted fur of Chopper. But the man just darted past the hole in the tree, ignoring the two crew members who were curled up inside.

Minutes later, Chopper and Usopp both let a relieved sigh. The man chasing them had decided to wander off in a random direction, blindly following a trail that didn't actually exist.

"What now?" Chopper asked Usopp in a hushed whisper.

_Now, now we run in the opposite direction. Or run to go get Luffy or Sanjii or Zoro or somebody who could actually take on that beast of a man_. Usopp thought. But he couldn't say it. Chopper idolized him and his tales and adventures. To him, Usopp was strong. To him, Usopp was brace. To him, Usopp was everything he pretended to be. Usopp couldn't stand to appear as a coward in front of Chopper.

"Well now we have the advantage. We know where he is, but he doesn't know where we are." Usopp said strategically. His mind raced with possibilities. "What we need right now is a plan."

Chopper nodded in agreement and sat, with his chin resting on his paw in a cliché thinking position.

"We need to use this forest to our advantage…" Usopp thought out loud, rambling about a multitude of elaborate plans. He rambled on for a while, talking about dropping out of the sky and attacking the man. But he dismissed that when he realized that they would be overpowered. Several more plans spilled out of his mouth, all of which useless to an extent.

"Agrona!" Chopper said excitedly.

"Bless you." Usopp quickly replied and jumped back into his ramblings.

"No, no, no. There is a plant I saw while we were running. It's called Agrona; I read it about it one time." Chopper said, frantically trying to recapture Usopp's attention. The long nosed boy turned back and gave Chopper an encouraging look. Chopper continued, "Well it's a very toxic plant, but only in the gaseous phase."

"Alright," Usopp nodded, trying to follow.

"So if we burn the plant and turn it into smoke around that man, then the poison will only affect him not us!" Chopper exclaimed.

"But what if the wind draws the gassy air over towards us? What about that?" Usopp asked, slightly disappointed that he hadn't thought of this.

"That's the thing about this plant; it's very toxic and has a condensed form of acidity. But because it is so tightly compacted, it only lasts for a short while. The gas should only last for about a minute before it runs out of toxicity." Chopper answered.

"So that means our timing will have to be perfect." Usopp replied. Chopper nodded in response. "Well then! Leave this up to me! I am the king of snipers, after all."

And with that the pair hurdled out of the tree hole and quietly tried to figure out where they chaser wandered off to. They found him, stumbling over several bushes, frantically looking side to side for his prey.

Chopper tapped Usopp lightly on the shoulder and pointed towards a bright red vine that was draped over a tree. "It's that one." Usopp nodded in response and loaded his sling with a small explosive. He squinted one eye and prepared the launch of his pellet. As he let go he immediately something was wrong.

The pellet swiveled through the trees, and shot right past the vine, connecting with another plant several feet behind it. Usopp stared at the tiny explosion whose radius was not large enough to consume the plant. He missed.

"Oh. Damn." Usopp said.

The tiny little fragmented explosion caught the eye of their pursuer. He turned around, facing the direction of where the bullet came from. His eyes rested on Chopper and Usopp, who had done little to hide themselves. A wicked grim overcame the man as he let out a howl and sprinted towards the reindeer and the long nosed boy.

"Oh DAMN" Usopp shouted as the man sprinted towards him.

"How could you miss?" Chopper yelled as they tried to escape through the forest.

"It was a small vine! And there was wind! And pressure!" Usopp gasped out.

There was a tree, jutting up just in the middle of the two. Chopper turned left, and Usopp turned right. The man following them followed Chopper, eager for a good chase. Chopper ran, panicking, as fast as he could. Usopp tried to keep up, following the reindeer through the thicket.

"Hold on Chopper!' Usopp shouted as he stopped and ascended up a tree.

Chopper continued to dart through the forest, turning and swiveling, hoping to confuse the following man. But the man was determined to not lose his prey again.

Usopp, at the top of the tree, loaded his slingshot with a pellet. This time he took a deep breath and saw an Agrona plant dangling near Choppers head. He pulled back the sling and let it go.

The pellet zinged through the air. Usopp crossed his fingers, praying for the bullet to connect. And it did. There was a small explosion as the spotted explosion hit the plant. A little red gas fizzed out in the air, filling the air near with a smoky hue and a strong scent of cinnamon.

Usopp let out a relieved sigh, until he realized that he didn't see Chopper emerge from the smoky area. _Shit!_ Usopp thought as he swung down from the tree and sprinted towards the area of impact. It was cloudy and difficult to see, but Usopp held his breath and shouted, "Chopper! Chopper!"

Yet the person who responded was not Chopper. It was the pursuer. He stood up in front of Usopp, seemingly out of nowhere. He heaved greatly, and his balance was shaky. Usopp let out a girly shriek and let his fist fly. His meager blow connected to the man's face, who fell backwards and collapsed on the ground. Usopp looked confused for a second, looking at his fist and then down at the man who he had just felled. Suddenly boisterous pride filled Usopp as he looked around for somebody to tell a story about how strong he was.

And then in the distance, he saw Chopper, huddled on the ground, not moving. Usopp raced towards him, his lungs screaming for air. Usopp picked Chopper up and carried him out of the blasting zone.

"Oi! Chopper? Hey buddy, wake up." Usopp pleaded, leaning over top Choppers body. He saw the little reindeers chest move slowly in and out, breathing in a slow rhythm.

The little reindeer looked up at Usopp and grinned. "Did it work?" He asked. Usopp nodded. Chopper let out a little cough. "Don't worry about me. I didn't inhale much of the gas. I'll be fine in a little while." Usopp just nodded again. A small tear welled up in his eye and he let the thought that he could have possibly just killed his friend enter his mind. But he quickly shook the thought out of his head as he helped Chopper up and the two of them headed back towards the clearing.

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Neither Robin nor Nami had ever felt so useless in their lives. Nami had forgotten the most crucial thing- her weapon. She was defenseless and relied on Robin to handle the assault against the man chasing them. But Robin was having an even harder time dealing with this foe. She had finally found her real weakness- Fat.

Robin had arms launch from the man's neck in an attempt to snap it, but through all of the blubber the hands could not find enough grip on the bone to break it. She tried a varying amount of attacks but they all ending up being futile. The raven haired women gnawed her lip in anger, searching her brain for some way to stop Doflamingo's man. It was just… wrong. Her pride could take being bested by somebody. But not by this man. Not by a 500 pound man wearing only shorts. Not by somebody whose boobs were larger than hers. Not by somebody whose sole talent was his blubber. It disgusted Robin.

She let out a heaving sigh as her and Nami ventured farther into the forest.

"Let's just finish this quickly and get back to the boys." Nami said, sensing her companions frustration. Robin nodded in agreement. The two of them swerved between the dense trees. Curious as to how the man was able to follow them through the tight trees, Robin turned away. And what she saw she couldn't quite believe. As the blubber man walked through the tree his skin suddenly condensed and shrunk, as if the fat had just eaten itself all away. Suddenly the man was the size of a normal person. As soon as he passed the tree the fat expanded. And again it happened when there was another tree. The process took less than a second and the man just slipped through the trees.

Robin and Nami took a sharp turn and the scenery swiftly changed. Without warning, the two were on the edge of a river cliff. They threw their weight backwards on their heels to keep from falling forward into the drop. It didn't look particularly steep or deep, but it would best to avoid falling the drop.

Nami looked over to Robin with a grin on her face and they both shared the same idea. The two circled back into the woods, locating the body shifting man. He spotted them and continued to chase after them, with his weight fluxuating all over the place.

"He must have eaten the wei-wei fruit. The person can change their body mass at will. Not the most useful fruit, in my opinion." Robin commented as her and Nami sprinted back towards the cliff with the man in pursuit.

At the cliff's edge the two suddenly split, darting to either side as the clueless man stumbled over the edge behind them. He let out a small shriek as he toppled over the edge and descended towards the river below.

Nami let out a small sigh. "That was a lot easier than I thought."

And as if she had jinxed the situation, Robin leaned over and saw something she almost could not believe. The man had altered his body mass to nearly nothing, floating in the wind and swaying towards the top of the cliff. The wind lifted him up and he floated towards the tip of cliff where he had just fallen, a malicious grin on his face.

His feet delicately touched the top of cliff and he looked at the shocked girls as he revived his body mass to his normal blubbery state. Nami just gaped, and Robin rolled her eyes, dreading facing this sorrow excuse for a man. Robin flexed her arms, trying to contemplate some way she could make her ability work against this man. Nami just stood with a frantic and useless expression, concerned about Robin and herself.

"Hold on my beauties!" A voice shouted from above.

Confused, the girls looked up to see Sanjii descending from above them. He had his hands wrapped around a vine and was swinging down with his white shirt billowing in the wind.

The man looked even more confused, but he didn't have time to process as Sanjii plowed his foot into the man's chest, sending him, once again, tumbling over the edge of the cliff.

"Sanjii!" Nami exclaimed as she swooped the blonde haired chef up in a hug. The cook melted in her arms with hearts swarming his eyes.

Over the cliff's edge the man was pulling the same trick. His fat retreated into his body and he floated, as light as a feather. But Robin stood over the cliff's edge with a dangerous look in her eye. She shook her head disapprovingly and crossed her arms. Suddenly, little arms sprung the mans neck. The arms were now able to find the neck as there was no fat blocking the way. And with a quick flicking motion, the arms completed their mission, sending the man dropping dead into the river below.

"Thank you cook-san" Robin commented, dusting her hands as if they still had the feeling of death on them.

"Anything for you!" Sanjii responded with glee.

Nami looked around cautiously before suggesting heading back to the rest of crew in the field.

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Chopper and Usopp were the first to arrive, shortly followed by Luffy. All three just stood at the edge of the field. They refused to believe what they saw. Then Sanjii and Nami and Robin came quickly after, who also stopped at the edge of clearing.

"What the hell?" Sanjii shouted.

There was Zoro, laying in the middle of the field with blood oozing out and wounds covering his body in copious amounts. His moss green hair died red with his blood. Above him stood his opponent, a hefty man with his hands dripping with the swordsman blood. Doflamingo stood in the distance with a dark smile over his features. But the crew didn't care about him. The crew didn't even care about the opponent. They only cared about Zoro at this moment.

And there was their swordsman –Zoro- Lying defeated in a puddle of his blood.

**AUTHOR NOTE: I hate writing fight scenes. But I've definitely gotten at least a little bit better I hope. By the way, this chapter is OVER 8000 WORDS (If only it was over 9000… sigh. So much for my Dragon ball Reference). Nearly peeing myself I'm so proud. I hope you all review. My writing, even with my huge breaks, is getting better and better. I read my first chapter and now I think it sucks. Anyways, please review! Let me know that there are still people out there interested! YAY!**

**Next Chapter will be pretty awesome. If I ever get around to writing it!**


	5. Chapter 5: Dream or Nakama

**Authors Note: Howdy. No long note here… Enjoy!**

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_And there was their swordsman –Zoro- Lying defeated in a puddle of his blood._

"What the hell is this?" Sanjii shouted, his eyes scanning over the area confused. A man with tightly toned muscles stood over Zoro's still body, his finger tips dripping with Zoro's blood. A blank smile was riddled over his face and his eyes lacked any gaze.

"Ah!" Doflamingo exclaimed, pressing the tips of his fingers together under his chin. He sat propped up against a tree, his back pressing against the bark of the tree. Unlike his crew member, there was a malicious smile on his face and his eyes, though they were masked by glasses, shot through the straw hat crew that had gathered in front of him.

"Welcome back! I see you defeated those adorable little wastes of spaces that I had on my crew." Doflamingo continued. Luffy growled, enraged by how Doflamingo treated his comrades. "Honestly, I would have been surprised if any of them had actually beaten you. They were more for distractions and entertainment than actual fighting."

"Now, I don't want you to think that all of my crew is like that. Of course not, they were just a few men I had outgrown." Doflamingo rambled on, talking about his failed crewmates in a spiteful manner. His flicked his hand away, representing him pushing the old crewmates out of his mind like annoying bugs.

Luffy's hands clenched into fists and his straw hat lingered darkly over his eyes. His rage against Doflamingo was suspended by his concern for Zoro. "What did you do to Zoro?" The captain asked bitterly as he began to walk towards his fallen swordsmen.

Doflamingo shrugged and tilted his head towards his companion, "It wasn't me. It was Dalburn over here." The man gestured at a man whose muscles were tightened, pressed against his skin without an ounce of fat. Dalburn's short brown hair hung over top of his sharpened face, where his cheek bones stuck out at high angles and his beady eyes pierced from under thick, lowered eyebrows. His eyes shifted, taking in as much of the crew as he could. But unlike Doflamingo, his mouth was not stretched into an enormous smile. Rather, his petite lips contrasted the rest of his figure, simply being two little lines lost in the rough exterior of his body.

"Chopper, Usopp" Luffy started, "You two look after Zoro. The rest of you, we're going to bring this murderer down." At the orders, Chopper frantically scurried over to the swordsman's side, Usopp followed. Nami looked at the site of Dalburn and at her lack of weapons or fighting skills and decided it would be better to aid Chopper in any way. As Luffy saw Nami leave out of the corner of his eye, he silently handed her his precious hat. She replied with a soft nod and gently took it from him.

Thus Sanjii, Luffy, and Robin advanced on the man who hovered by Doflamingos side. Sanjii was the first to bolt out from the trio and he rushed towards the man. Doflamingo turned to his companion, "Go ahead. Have a little fun."

Dalburn replied with a blank nod and dashed towards Sanjii, preparing to meet the cook halfway. Sanjii leapt up, his leg already cocked and ready for a kick. After a short spin he plowed it into the chest of Dalburn. But the beast of a man seemed to be unaffected by the kick as he continued to charge forward, even with Sanjii's leg still furrowed into his muscled chest. Dalburn slammed on his breaks, lurching backwards and tossing Sanjii off, who landed somewhat less than gracefully on the ground several feet away. Sanjii prepared to follow up with another kick, this time aiming at the mans calves. He turned, swooping the ground and spinning up dirt from under Dalburn's legs. However, the man simply jumped, launching himself high into the air. Sanjii stopped and took a moment to look up, trying to trace his foe in the sky. He spotted the tan blimp in the air and saw it descend towards him with ferocious velocity. Sanjii backed up several feet, attempting to give himself enough room from the landing zone. He flexes his knees and prepared his next assault as soon as Dalburn was a few meager feet from the air. But, just has Dalburn landed he shifted his entire weight into his fall. His hands and feet simultaneously meet the cracked ground and created a massive rift, a minor earthquake. The earth shook slightly and a large meteoric dent appeared in the ground. Waves of dust and dirt flew from the spot and consumed the air. Sanjii, who had been midair at the time of the impact, was blown away by the sheer air force of the landing. He tumbled uselessly through the air, constantly trying to grip the ground with his hands or his feet, but found them in utter disarray by the violent shock. Finally, the tip of his shoe caught onto stable ground, and it dug into the corner of the cracks, securing a landing for Sanjii. The cook quickly tried to regain his composure, but his balance was shaking as the sky had turned brown from the impacted dirt. He peered around, searching for his opponent. And soon enough he found him, as Dalburn's veined fist slammed directly into Sanjii's face.

Sanjii stumbled back from the force and his hands immediately shot up to nose. The cook was suddenly filled with the scene of Zoro punching him the night before. Blood began to violently rush out of Sanjii's nose, much more than had ever occurred from Sanjii having seen a pretty lady. Drops of the metallic liquid flooded into Sanjii's mouth, gagging him slightly. He shook his head and coughed out some blood, trying to remind himself of the fight. But just as he looked up Dalburn was on him and followed up with several blows to Sanjii's stomach. The sickening crack of ribs could be heard through the dusted valley.

Just as Dalburn was about to unleash another punch; a familiar rubber hand stopped it in its tracks. Luffy's warm fingers rolled over the edges of Dalburn's thick fist. The man stopped slightly in surprise at his blow being caught. The captain looked up from under his raven hair, and his expression was filled with pain, sadness and anger. But Dalburn didn't have the chance to figure out the expression before Luffy swung his other hand into the side of Dalburn's face. Dalburn's neck twisted sharply, turning sharply to the side from the attack. Luffy released the man's other hand and unleashed his trade mark Gatling gun, thrusting hundreds of his fists in the direction of the mans face. It was a flurry of tan fists as Luffy pounded down the opponent.

The dust began to settle, but Luffy did not quit, continuing his barrage and feeling the hot flesh as his fist connected to Dalburn's skin. The captain took a deep breath and slowed his assault. But as soon as he slowed down, tight hands squeezed over the top of his fingers, halting his blows in midair. Dalburn stood against Luffy, their hands interlocked in a stalemate. Luffy let out a small gasp as the man who had assumed he had just pummeled, was nearly unhurt. With the exception of a few small bruises under the eye and a little blood trailing out of the corner of his lip, Dalburn looked unharmed by Luffy's assault.

A little smile peaked at the corner of Dalburn's mouth. His grip around Luffy's hands tightened and the captain's eyes widened. Luffy picked up his feet and pressed them into Dalburn's stomach, trying to free his hands, but the beast mans grip was far too tight. Luffy let out a small gulp before Dalburn flung the stringy captain over his head. Dalburn twisted his body and managed to slam Luffy into the ground behind him. A large dent in the earth appeared. But Dalburn didn't let go. He repeated the process, throwing Luffy over his head and slamming him into the ground, this time in front of him. The captain coughed slightly, inhaling dirt and blood. Dalburn looked around and saw the cook still clutching his nose with one hand and his ribs with the other hand. Dalburn spun once or twice, building up his momentum, before releasing his grip on Luffy, sending the poor captain hurtling towards his defenseless cook. The pair collided, knocking both backwards several feet.

You could hear the impact and the simmered groans that followed the impact from across the entire valley. Dalburn sprinted towards the defeated duo, leaping up into the air, preparing to land on them, crush them. However, just as he left the ground a small arm jutted out from his ankle, causing the oaf of a man to trip and stumble forward in the air. Dalburn recovered, taking the trip in stride and rolling over himself to land safely back on the ground.

He looked behind him and saw the black haired women standing several feet away. He took a quick glance at the captain and cook, still untangling themselves, and decided to go for the women. Hopping back on his feet, Dalburn swaggered towards Robin. She flexed her arms, crossing them gently in front of each other. Moments later, replica arms sprung out on Dalburn's arm. There was a minor moment of surprise as Dalburn looked down at the irregular grown arms sprouting from him. But the feeling of shock soon passed as one of the arms inched towards his neck. Dalburn reached his hand up and grabbed the wrist of the arm and held on to it. With a slight turn down of his lips, the man twisted his hand and the wrist of Robin's sprouted arm gave a large crack.

Robin shrieked and suddenly all of her arms disappeared from Dalburn's body. She tentatively reached for her wrist, coddling it she noticed it was fine, but she still felt the pain that he had caused to her fake arm. She looked up at the man with a scowl on her face. She flexed once again, yet this time dozens of arms and hands sprouted from Dalburn. There was no surprise or hesitation this time. Dalburn's hands flew everywhere and to every hand that Robin had exposed on his body. He grabbed his hand and snapped it back, causing the arm to disappear. After breaking several of the arms, Dalburn risked a glance up at the women. Robin was panting heavily, her fingers looped around her wrist in an effort to dispel the pain. Yet, she kept the sprouting arms coming. For every few Dalburn took down, Robin conjured up several more, despite the pain that flowed into her from the broken one.

Hundreds were growing over Dalburn's body, and many were approaching his neck, despite how fast he was destroying them. Finally, one of Robin's skinny fingers found its way to the mans neck. Her hand cradled around his neck, preparing to snap his neck back and end him, just as he had snapped her wrists. Her hand went back, but there was not enough strength to force the meaty neck backwards. The hand simply lingered there, barely even bruising his neck.

Dalburn looked at the poor women, who lay crumpled on the ground with sweat beading down her neck. The combination of creating so many arms and the pain that each breaking had exhausted her. Her frail body began to shake slightly, but she was determined not to show it. She glared back at Dalburn with fierce eyes that so contrasted her present stature.

The man advanced on her, each shake of his step beating against her heart beat. She let out long slow breathes, trying to think of something, anything.

Suddenly, a stretched out arm grappled the rough brown hair of Dalburn. The fingers dug into his hair, pulling the man backwards. Dalburn immediately shot his hands up to grasp the arm and turned around, seeing the tan arm attached to the captain who was now standing and panting several feet away. Dalburn held onto the hand and then immediately dashed towards the captain, something Luffy was not expecting. Dalburn was in his face in seconds and plowed his fist into the captain's gut. Luffy stumbled back, tripping over Sanjii who was still recovering on the ground. Luffy attempted to exchange blows with Dalburn, blocking and punching, constantly searching for an opening. But Dalburn was quicker and ruthless. As Luffy swung angrily at him, Dalburn decided to take the punch to his shoulder, much to Luffy's surprise. But in that split moment of Luffy's impact, Dalburn decided to change subjects. He swung his foot into Sanjii's throat, causing the cook to cough violently and spit up blood. The cooks' neck bent inwards, leaving a nasty dent and the blonde man gasping for air.

"You ass!" Luffy screamed when he realized Dalburn only took his blow in order to attack Sanjii. The raven haired boy's mind was emptied of any strategy, replaced with the urge to punch and punch. But Dalburn had the advantage. Luffy wasn't necessarily a close range fighter as there was little his gum-gum powers could do when he was merely a foot from his opponent. Dalburn on the other hand was close range, knowing precisely how to cock his elbow to maximize the amount of hits, where to hit, and how to get the most out of his punch.

Despite Luffy's rapid punches, Dalburn was unfazed and unleashed a powerful, single punch, forcing the captain back several feet. Luffy, opening his eyes through the spotting pain, looked around to see Dalburn missing. Suddenly, he felt a sharp blow from behind his head and his instincts were not quite fast enough to catch the attack. Luffy staggered forward and immediately his instincts directed his hands to the back of his head. His fingers found a bloody welt at the back of his head and black spots swarmed his vision. Dalburn, now behind the boy, casually picked up the dizzied child and gripped his thick hands in Luffys hair and pulled. The captain let out a yelp. Dalburn, now suddenly bored with this opponent tossed him aside, launching him directly at Robin who was too drained to avoid the flying captain. Once again, Luffy collided with one of his crewmates, crashing into them, but this time with silence.

"You may be excellent fighters on your own, but honestly, you don't exactly fight well as team." Doflamingo mocked from afar, enjoying the battlefield scene.

Dalburn looked around, seeing his three opponents laying coughing, bloodied and defeat. He scanned the battlefield for the other two and his eyes finally rested upon the reindeer, the other woman, the long nosed boy, and his previous opponent.

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While the fighting was commencing, a shivering and scared reindeer loomed over the broken swordsman. The reindeer frantically began to check Zoro for serious wounds, and finding many he got increasingly worried. A long gash swept across Zoro's back and blood poured freely out of it. Several bruises dotted Zoro's normally calm face and many more lingered over his body. Chopper tore off Zoro's shirt, handing Nami the shirt in order to make bandage strips, and let out a small gasp at what he saw. A small part of Zoro's rib was stick out of his skin and Chopper carefully ran his fingers over the swordsman's lungs, feeling the cracked and broken ribs under the muscular skin. As Choppers hooves traced the injuries, Zoro grunted and his face squished up into itself. Chopper let out a panicked sorry, before sighing in relief. Zoro was alive.

Chopper turned to Usopp, his eyes filled with seriousness, and instructed Usopp to go into the forest and find a plant blue in hue, with 6 leaves, and that smelt of peppermint and chocolate. Usopp nodded and darted off towards the forest without asking any questions. Chopper was ready to instruct Nami to head over to the ship when he looked up and saw the orange haired woman with tears streaming down her cheek.

"How could this happen?" Nami sniffled. "To Zoro of all people… He's strong." She almost dabbed her tears with his bloody shirt.

Chopper nodded sympathetically. "It will be okay. Luffy and Sanjii and Robin will take care of the guy that did this." And with that Chopper hopefully looked up at the fight. Just in time to see Luffy get thrown into Sanjii. Chopper winced. Things were looking bad.

Nami began to rip her shirt and Zoro's shirt into strips and hand them to Chopper, who skillfully looped them around his arms and legs in an effort to stop the bleeding from wounds that weren't too serious.

"Wait!" Chopper exclaimed, nearly frightening Nami. "In my pouch, over there," Chopper pointed his hoof in the direction of the clearing where they first entered. "I had brought medicine to assist anybody from the village."

Nami nodded and stood up, darting to the edge of the clearing, picking up the bag and sprinting bag, not wanting to waste a single second.

"Perfect." Chopper muttered as he opened the bag and dug out piles and piles of medicine. Within moments he was slathering goo over Zoro's wounds, stitching up other places, padding scratches and so on. He managed a glance up at the battle and saw how badly things were going. _I need to go help._ Chopper thought. But he shook that thought aside. _I need to help Zoro right now. Besides, what could I do? Luffy and Sanjii are already out there, this guy beat Zoro, what help would I possibly be?_

Usopp burst through the clearing holding a massive pile of the plant Chopper had described. Wordlessly, Chopper took the plant from the panting Usopp and stuck it in his mouth. "Hey!" Usopp shouted.

Chopper shot Usopp a look to silence him and then opened his mouth, reached in and grabbed out a blue gum like substance that dripped and oozed. The medic took it out and squeezed the blue liquid into Zoro's mouth. The barely living swordsman did his best to swallow it before Chopper dropped the entire blue substance into his mouth. Zoro gagged, his tongue fighting to furiously kick the substance from his throat. But Chopper continued to thrust it down. "This should help you breathe better." Chopper grunted as the swordsman finally swallowed. His breathing slowed down slightly, much to Choppers relief.

And suddenly, the swordsman's eyes shot open. His green eyes met Choppers and the reindeer leapt back, surprised by Zoro's consciousness.

"Zoro!" Chopper screamed with glee! Across the field, Doflamingo casually glanced at the distant group.

Zoro furrowed his brow and attempted to move, but was held back by the doctor. Chopper began to berate him on the importance of not moving, of staying still, of the importance of his injuries. But Zoro ignored him and propped himself up on his knees. The world was slowly spinning and black dots infested the corner of his vision. This nausea made Zoro almost come close to vomiting, but the swordsman held it back. He could hear Chopper in the background, nearly yelling at him to stay down, but Zoro continued to refuse.

He tried to stand, unsuccessfully. He fell forward, his knees stumbling out from under him. Zoro lurched several feed, landing back on his knees near the edge of the forest. He let out a devastated sigh and turned around, feeling a sickening crack in his chest and a ripping in his back. A grunt escaped his mouth as he fell backwards. His back found the bark of a tree and rested there. Zoro tried to open his eyes up to the burning scene in front of him. A fire blazed in the distance, Doflamingo in the corner, Luffy being thrown towards Robin, Sanjii lying on the ground, Chopper and Usopp rushing towards him. And there he was, propped up against a tree, gasping for breath and feeling the weakness and soreness in his body.

But then he saw something else, something that caught his eye. That man, _Shit, what was his name? Dinkleburg?Dalbo?...Dalburn,_ was staring at them and he was beginning to walk over, getting closer and closer. _He beat me. So now am I going to die? Shit._ Zoro swore several more times. He stared at the approaching man, but it was not hatred he felt towards him. It was respect for the man, but hatred for himself. How could he hate a man simply because he was stronger than him? He respected that strength. _But I still hate. Hate myself for this stupid weakness. For this approaching death. For not being able to fulfill my promise._

Zoro's eyes slinked back into his head, full of visions of his childhood and his promises and his dreams. How defeated they seemed in the face of death.

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Dalburn was now lurking his way, determined to finish off his first prey. Suddenly all movement seemed to stop on the field. Not a breath was inhaled, not a beat was taken, and not a step was walked. Silence fell across the field. Dalburn looked around and saw Doflamingo waving at him, signaling for Dalburn to stop, which the man obediently did.

"Nice fight." Doflamingo said loudly, loud enough for even those drifting into unconsciousness could hear it. He mockingly began to slap slowly. "Well I wish I could say that. But you three barely even last 5 minutes again Dalburn! At least your precious Zoro lasted 10 minutes!" Doflamingo cackled, his voice boomed over the meadow.

Luffy stirred on the field, gritting his teeth and seeping with rage.

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***Flashback Begin***

It was just him, his swords, and his opponent. Zoro needed nothing more. He drew his swords and carefully placed one his mouth. He flexed his knees and charged towards his opponent. One slash. Two slash. Another cut across the man's shoulder, but his attacks just seemed to bounce off the muscles. Another slash, another strike- but the man was far to fast, whipping out and dodging in every direction. Another punch, another slam- right into Zoro's face and his shoulder. Blurring pain, but the swordsman continued on fighting. Zoro swung again, with movements and power, but they were simply deflected and ignored. Instead, he was attacked; another punch to the face and soon the swordsman was slammed up against the tree. Dalburn picked him up and ripped him off the bark, and a giant bloody gash ripped up against Zoro's back. More blood. More dizziness. Seeing and standing and breathing became difficult. Zoro's posture slumped down, his head began to hang and his grip loosened on his swords slightly. Darkness was taking over his vision and even Zoro's willpower could not match the sheer strength of his opponent.

And suddenly he heard a voice, Doflamingo's. The bloody silence of the field was overwhelming. Dalburn stopped and Zoro felt the relief of no new pain, followed by a flood of the old pain. "I'm impressed." Doflamingo shouted out. Zoro glanced through his blood that trickled over his eyes and glared at the brightly colored man.

"Honestly, I didn't expect this much of you." Doflamingo said. "After all, you come from that pathetic crew, but I'm impressed." Zoro spit out some blood and continued glaring at the man.

"But I have a question for you…Simply for your benefit. But I must admit I'm curious in the answer." Doflamingo continued on.

"What?" Zoro asked roughly.

"If I gave you a choice, and you may only choose one… what would you choose? **Your dream or your nakama**?" Doflamingo asked, tilting forward and propping his chin on the tip of his manicured finger.

***End flashback***

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The field remained quiet until Doflamingo exclaimed, "And now, I shall ask of you the same question that I asked your swordsman! Your dream or your Nakama? You may only choose one…"

"That's a stupid question!" Luffy shouted, not even hesitating to think over his answer. "I'm going to be the Pirate King!"

"So… you would choose your dream?" Doflamingo asked, confused and surprised.

"NO!" Luffy screamed. "I would choose my Nakama. My nakama will help make me Pirate King. What's a Pirate King without his crew?" Doflamingo gave a weak nod, but his smile stayed strong.

"And," Luffy continued with a softer tone, "My friends mean more to than me any dream. My friends are my dream and would do anything for them!"

"And the rest of you?" Doflamingo asked, extending the question.

Sanjii, though in his beaten state, heard the question. _My friends or the All Blue? What is all the good fish and food in the world worth, if there is nobody for me to cook it for? I'd much rather have my friendships, even with shit-head swordsman, than spend my dream alone._

Nami hadn't thought about her dream in a while, and now it seemed so simple, so naïve and pointless. _I can make a map of the entire world. But what would that matter? It would be just like with Arlong, no joy and alone. Alone._

Chopper grimaced at the question. _My nakama. Of course my nakama. I will be the best doctor, but I am nothing with out my nakama around me._

Usopp thought as well, simply wanting to be a great warrior of the sea. _The only way to achieve my dream is with the help of my friends. Without them, well, I'd still be stuck on my island telling lies of adventures I never accomplished._

Together, the four of them declared, "My Nakama!" Their boisterous shout was followed by cries of how stupid the question was, how rude of him to ask, and how none of them would say anything else.

"Our dreams are with are Nakama, for our Nakama, and would mean nothing without them." Nami shouted at Doflamingo, who was perched on a tree branch. His smile grew wide and dangerous.

A wicked gleam entered his eye as Doflamingo announced, "Well then, I think you may find it interesting to learn that Zoro would choose something different. **He chose his dream.**"

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**Authors Note:** It's one year since I started. 5 Chapters. That's really sad. I always say I'll write more often, but really, I won't. I try, but I know I won't. So I apologize. But I'm grateful to all of you who stick with the story regardless! Review please! Slight Cliff hanger... I had this idea for a one shot of "Dream or Nakama" where at the end Zoro was the only one who wouldn't have an answer... Anyways, enjoy!


	6. Chapter 6: Do You Dream Alone?

**Authors Note: …No comment. Just review please. PLEASE.**

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"Well then, I think you may find it interesting to learn that Zoro would choose something different. He chose his dream." Doflamingo spoke with a sweetened expression, his lips curling up joyfully. There was a sickening gleam in his eyes as he darted between the Straw hats, eager for their reactions.

The field immediately tensed. Every breath was held in, sucked in by fear and confusion, staled and became stagnant by the crews bewilderment. They all chose their nakama, their friends, and their bonds- for them that was strength, the strength in each other. They would easily choose Zoro over being Pirate King, or a drawing a map of the world, or being a warrior of the see. But he would not choose them back.

They would give him all that they had, for the sake of their friendship, but he would rather choose himself.

"No." Nami spoke simply. But then she repeated it with a scream, her voice shrieking to the top of her lungs. "NO. Zoro wouldn't. He would choose his Nakama, he's not like that. He's one of us."

"Oh, but you see, you are incredibly wrong." Doflamingo teased, his fingers drumming lightly against his chin. "He's farther away from you than you think. He's more determined, more focused, and he knows that in the end, his dream will get him farther than your little measly band of misfits ever could."

"Bullshit!" Sanjii shouted, his hand clutching his rib cage and gently holding over his stomach where blood began to leak out. "He may be one hell of a shit-head, but he's not so selfish."

"Selfish. Now that's an interesting idea. You say that choosing your friendships makes you unselfish- So pure and pristine. Hmm?" Doflamingo asked. "Really? Putting your own need for bonds and petty thinks like friendship and entertainment over another person's dream- Tell me how that is not selfish? You would rather have your pathetic friendship than allow each other to achieve your full potential!"

"You're wrong." Luffy finally spoke. His hat tilted down, his voice serious and dark, and his eyes cast towards the ground. "We are stronger together. We push each other to be the best we can be. I push them towards their dreams just as they push me to mine! Our dreams are our Nakamaship!"

Doflamingo shook his head and rolled his eyes with slight drama. "But what if you aren't pushing each other? What if you're simply holding each other back? What then?" He intensely questioned, leaning forward with eyes glaring for the answer.

"Not us." Luffy responded. "That's not us."

The yellow boaed man sighed helplessly, deciding to give up on this useless debate. "You won't believe me. But why don't you just ask Zoro?"

Immediately, all eyes shot across the field, searching for a bright head of green that blended into flawlessly to the mossy grass around them.

Zoro sat, drifted between states of consciousness. At the mention of his name at the beginning of his conversation, he perked up and listened with what intensity he could to the conversation. Dreams or Nakama. His eyes rolled back into his head. He had chosen his dreams. He had actually admitted it to Doflamingo, moments before passing out. And that cackling, audacious, feathered freak had the gall to mention it to his crew.

The swordsman shifted uncomfortably against the rough bark. His head swirled with confusion and nausea. Tenderly he felt his chest wound as his mind fled away from the debate between his crew and Doflamingo. Blood seeped over his fingers and sickness filled the scent of his nostrils. Part of the smell made Zoro gag slightly. Suddenly his heard his name called again and all faces on the field faced him. Only Doflamingo was smiling. His entire crew was glaring with curiosity, and fear.

"Ask me what?" The swordsman managed to grunt out quietly. Blood dribbled down his chin, but Chopper did not react. Over the silence of the field, everybody was able to hear his question.

"Dream. Or. Nakama." Doflamingo asked bluntly, over pronouncing every word and using every syllable as its own form of a weapon.

Zoro's head fell back and stared at the clouds, wishing the question away. His eyes stayed there for a minute of silence as the scene awaited his answer. _If I just said Nakama, this would all be over._

_Nakama. Just say it. But I said my dream to Doflamingo. Am I lying if I just say Nakama? Damit, this is just a pointless, stupid, useless question. Nakama. Just say it Zoro. _

His dream or his Nakama- His passion or his friendships- His ambitions, his life long goals, his promises, his power… or a group of miscellaneous, rambunctious, and carefree people. It stung Zoro to think this, but it was his dream that seemed overwhelmingly the choice. It was his dream that led him to his friends. It was his dream that pushed him forward, that lead him to strength. And it would be his dreams that would make him the best swordsman, fulfill his promise, and finally satisfy himself. His friends would simply be accessories and distractions on the way.

Zoro locked his jaw, gritted his teeth and searched the field for Luffy. His captain deserved this answer. He deserved the truth. No, Luffy wasn't the only one who deserved the truth. The entire crew deserved the truth. _I deserve the truth…_ Zoro thought dimly.

He looked down at the blood that dribbled off of his finger tips. Black dots blotted his vision and red pulsed in the corner of his eyes, matching the pounding beat that assaulted his mind. His chest constricted tight, burning from the weight of the question and the gash that cried blood from under his shirt.

Suddenly, Zoro's breath became rampant, short and quick, never quite circulating through his lungs.

He gasped, searching for air. Maybe it was from the wound. Maybe it was from the intensity of the situation. Maybe it was from his answer. But Zoro found consciousness fickle and fleeting from him. As the swordsman coughed up splats of blood he found his strength and looked again at his captain with his face drawn in stone- eyes solid, his mouth barely parted, and his expression vacant, his lips not curving in any direction.

"Dream." He coughed out.

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The crew just stared as the swordsman passed out, his head limply banging the tree behind him. There was nothing else to do. Nobody rushed towards him with tears and fear and a hand to help. Instead, they just stood. Rooted to the spot, their legs frozen by what their mind had just heard. His dream.

His dream.

Over them.

Over their friendship.

Over every god damn thing they've overcome together, over every tear and beer they've shared, over every fight and spat, over everything. He would choose his own dream. A few sharpened swords by his hip suddenly meant more to him than his gang of friends. And with that, Luffy looked at the swords by Zoro's hip. They instantly filled him with hatred and the captain fought the urge to rush at the swords and them rip off of their cases, throw them in the fire, drown them in the ocean, and let them be trampled by a heard of giants. He wanted to grab his swordsman by the scuff of his neck and shake him until things made sense. But most of all, he wanted to know why. Why wasn't he good enough for Zoro? Why wasn't his crew good enough? … Would they ever be enough?

A cackle emitted from the edge of the field. Doflamingo jumped down from his tree, his face spread Cheshire wide in an enormous grin.

"I told you all." Doflamingo mocked. "Petty little people can not triumph real dreams, real passion."

"What did you do to him?" Nami exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. "He would never say that!"

Doflamingo flinched back, his smile dropping down into a straight line of seriousness. "Nothing. You think anything I could say or do would change his opinions of you? Those are his real thoughts."

"Liar! Something must have happened. He couldn't. He wouldn't…"

"You ignorant whelp. He just said it himself." Doflamingo calmly shouted back.

Nami was about to continue speaking but Doflamingo waved his hand, shoving away her words. He turned to Dalburn and nodded. "You may proceed. They're not needed."

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The orange haired woman cringed back as Dalburn sprinted towards her. She measly turned around, preparing to run away, but one look back told her no matter how fast her petite feet ran they could never outlast Dalburn. Just as his hand was about to reach her neck and shoulder, a kick dropped down from the sky, knocking his hand away and throwing off his momentum.

Dalburn spun quickly and recovered, turning to face the direction of the blow. But just as his spin completed, a kick was propelled in front of his face. Dalburn masterfully bent backwards and watch the kick retract over his head. However, a fist flew into the bent over man's shoulder, thrusting him forward into the foot. Another leg blew into the side of Dalburn's head, shaking his brains and rattling him down to one knee.

Suddenly a flurry of fists unleashed on his back end, digging into his spinal cord and slamming his shoulder blades. Dalburn let out a grunt before he swiveled his legs and through his body off of them, launching himself several feet away. He stood for a moment and caught his breath. Luffy and Sanjii stood across from him, their eyes dead and serious.

_I swear to God that I'll kick your bloody ass. I'll rip you up and beat you to pieces for what you said. I wont let you just spit on our friendship like that._ Sanjii thought angrily. _You're an ass Zoro, a new breed of bastard._

Dalburn let out a small chuckle as he stretched his back which responded with a musical cracking of muscles. He casually wiped the blood from the side of his head when Sanjii's kick and struck him. The man reached into his shorts and pulled out two, small pieces of metal that reflected in the head of the sun and fire. Golden and silver, he slid them over his knuckles where they fit perfectly. Little daggers stuck up from them and with that his hands looked far more menacing. A grin grew on his face.

_Work through it,_ Sanjii told himself. _You can ask that shit-head what the hell he was thinking when this is all done._

Taking that as signal, Luffy and Sanjii leapt at the man in unison. Luffy swung his arm first, stretching it directly towards Dalburn's fist, who expertly caught it and twisted it, forcing a massive wrinkled up Luffy's arm. Sanjii followed with a kick, not expected Luffy's attack to be dispelled so easily. Dalburn flexed his knees and forced his body weight down, holding his center of gravity.

Just as Sanjii leapt into the air, too late to stop his body motions, Dalburn grabbed it with his free hand. Swiftly he looped Luffy's arm around Sanjii's leg and ducked out of the way.

_I mean really, his dreams over us? Luffy. The beautiful ladies. Me. I'm sure I meant something to that brute headed lunk of a person._ Sanjii thought, but shook his head, trying to force his head into the battle.

Sanjii managed to make his kick skid to a halt and the force dragged Luffy back to his side. The chef loosely shook his leg, unraveling the poorly done tie. He decided to try a different approach as Dalburn began to run towards them.

_Luffy. I thought that telling him about our little spat last night would be devastating. But this... _Sanjii spared a quick look over to his captain. Luffys face was vacant, thoughtless, and clear.

As soon as Dalburn got within range, Sanjii fell to his hands and spun on them, his legs twirling rapidly like a tornado preparing. Dalburn hesitated slightly, unsure of how to react to his attack. However, Sanjii approached him, his legs propelled at Dalburn's face. The man rolled back, dodging the attack. Over the sound of Sanjii's attack Luffy shouted his next attack, beginning with his consistent "gum- gum…"

Dalburn heard it coming and leapt over Sanjii, bouncing off of the young chef's feet and plowed his weapon hand into the crevices of Luffys face.

The needles on his brass knuckles dug into Luffy's eye and the Captain let out a shriek as blood began to pour from his eye. The captain backed away, his hand immediately shooting to his face to apply pressure to the wound. But Dalburn did not let up and forced both of his hands together and shoved them into the captain's stomach, poking the rubber captain with a few bloody holes. Luffy doubled over.

_Am I not a good enough Captain? Am I not a good enough friend? _Luffy screamed to himself. The physical pain was nothing. All it did was bring him back to reality, back to the words that Zoro said. _I know he said his dreams meant everything to him. His promise to that girl from when he was a child._

_But did I- our crew- mean less than that?_

Sanjii stood back up, preparing a kick to the back of Dalburn's head who simply shifted his neck to avoid the attack. Sanjii spiraled past the man and Dalburn quickly gripped Sanjii's hair before the blonde had a chance to recover. Dalburn punch and sliced the man several times over his chest, hearing the familiar crunch of ribs and bones. Sanjii gasped and chocked out splats of blood. Dalburn shoved his brass knuckle into the notch between Sanjii's ribs, one of the needles digging past the bones. As the chef let out an exasperated moan, Dalburn dragged his hand down, ripping a hole in Sanjii's chest, leaving it gaping open to his stomach.

Sanjii landed with a dull thud as he was tossed uselessly against the ground.

"It must suck." The man said, finally breaking his silence. His was surprisingly light, in contrast to his dark nature. "To know that you're friend would choose his dream over you."

Dalburn leaned forward into the collapsed Captains ear and whispered, "Pathetic little captain. You will never be enough for him, or any of your crew."

Luffy snapped, his general smile turning into a harsh grimace as he shot up, his hand reaching at Dalburn's neck. The enraged captain squeezed, with the all the might in his slender body. He squeezed, his fingers pressing. Tiny veins popped in his hands and Luffys eye grew large and narrow at the same time, rage and hatred brimming so compacted. But no matter how hard he pushed, how tightly he gripped his fingers, Dalburn stood strong, his neck no worse for the wear. In fact, the grin stayed on Dalburn's face, ignorant to the choking being attempted. Dalburn slammed his fist into Luffy who, overtly focused on the strangling, didn't see it coming and was knocked off of his feet, flying several feet backwards and slamming onto the ground.

Dalburn walked up next to him and slammed his golden knuckled hand into Luffy's arm, striking through the rubbery skin and crunching into the arm bone- not going far enough to break it but close enough to scrape it- a pain Luffy had not felt in years since he had eaten the devils fruit. The captain rolled over, his hand cradling his blood gushing arm.

_Maybe… Maybe Doflamingo was right. Is it selfish of me to put myself ahead of his dreams? Why does it matter so much? Why does it kill me to know that he would choose his dreams over us? I should have always known that. Maybe I have always known that. I just didn't care, didn't think it would matter. I never imagined it would cause this rift. _

_But just him saying it out loud, him admitting to Doflamingo what he could never admit freely to me… I don't understand him. I don't understand his dream. Have I focused too much on this bond of pirates? The crew I always dreamt of?_

_No, I won't second guess. This was my dream, a crew at my back that were my friends, not simply my crew mates. This is how I wanted it to be… But does Zoro not want this?_

Luffy thought over and over again as he lay on the ground, his breathe free from his lungs and his blood shifting over his body. He questioned everything at that moment- His friendships, his bonds, and his own dreams. What did they really mean to him?

Behind him, Sanjii lay on the ground as Chopper rushed towards him staring at the intense wound that had developed on his chest. It had already begun to feaster and bleed out over his pale skin. Frantically, the little animal began to stitch and sew as fast as he could until he saw Dalburn approaching him.

The beast of a man leaned over the scene and chuckled. "Aren't you a sweet little friend, helping with his wounds?" Chopper nearly blushed, but his confusion overrode that feeling.

"It's a wonder why your swordsman would choose his precious dream over you weaklings." Dalburn mocked coyly. His face was dark and his eyes malicious.

Chopper felt his breath escape him. He turned around and shouted at the man, "You bastard!" The little animal threw a rumble ball in his mouth, waiting for the transformation to occur.

_He didn't mean it._ Chopper tried to convince himself. _Zoro loves us. He may not show it or say it, but I know it! I know we annoy and frustrate him. But that's just how it is. He's the big brother, my big brother. I know he'd choose me… there's no way he wouldn't choose me, us._

But it came too late as Dalburn thrusted up his knee, slamming Choppers jaws together and shattering most of his teeth which fell weakly to the ground. The little reindeer was launched several feet in the air from the knee kick, where Dalburn shot out his hand, which connected directly with Choppers uprising head and pushed the now unconscious reindeer back across the field where he skidded and skipped across the field like a skipping stone over a placid lake.

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"Is that it? Really?" Dalburn asked with a mix of hatred and disappointment. He looked over the scene of the beaten captain, the torn apart chef, the terrified women, and the useless animal.

Then he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. His head turned sharply over as he saw a bloody mass of a man arise near the forest clearing.

Zoro, blood leaking from ever inch of his body, rose up, and his hands gripped tightly around crimson katanas that whispered of war as the wind whistled past.

His blackened and ripped chest breathed in and out slowly as the swordsman looked up at Dalburn, where his lucid and normally clear green eyes had turned into a deepened crimson.

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**Authors Note: REVIEW. PLEASE.**


	7. Chapter 7: Take Me Down

**Authors note: BOOM. UPDATE. Sort of a short chapter.**

**RedVoidentDragon- "But, is it or have you improved? Like, I can't place where but I feel like you have." I've felt like this for a while. It's been about a year and a half since this story started and it's only 7 chapters long. But when I look back at chapter 1 I can't believe how much my writing has changed. How much more I'm able to write, how much better I am at describing. I want to thank you also for always reviewing!**

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The field was torn apart and, in the greatest extent, destroyed. Blood seeped into the earth's core and dotted the plants which greedily drank up the liquid as though it were water. A field trampled and died red by the defeat of the straw hats. The captain, with his straw hat sunken with a large footprint, lay defeated in the middle of it all. Not just beaten physically, no, for Luffy had the purest pride to attempt when others were stronger. But also brutally beaten mentally. Not in the sense of puzzles or brain aches, but beaten in the heart and spirit. There was more confusion and fog of doubt that clambered in his brain than actual focus on the battle. So he just lay, collapsed in the bloody field with neither the strength nor the will to stand up and continue. Not too far away there was the chef, whose blonde hair had flipped out in every direction, with legs sprawled and possibly broken, and whose chest heaved and sagged, trying to introduce oxygen to the shattered lungs. Robin exhausted beyond the means of consciousness and with arms so fiddly broken that the memory of pain still lingered on, even after drifting away into numbness. Then, the furry creature, whose fur was matted with blood and whose jaw was, at best, unhinged if not completely separated from his swollen head.

And then there was Zoro. His white shirt had been practically died with his own blood as gaping wounds, despite the tiny doctor's best attempts, remained open, gorging out atrocious amounts of blood that would have killed any normal man long ago. His swords were gripped faintly in his hands, so coated with dried death that it was a wonder his swords did not slip from his grip. Yet he was the only straw hat standing in the entirety of the silent field. Wind shrieked through the tree's, howling across the branches.

Despite the blood, despite the pain, Zoro did not have the eyes of a dead man. But they were also not the eyes of a living man. They were blank, no calculating thoughts, no inherent rage, and no calm demeanor. They were sullied, yet in the purest form, focused on the raw instinct and qualities of man, but not of a human.

He fingered the stem of his sword, feeling the familiar creases and weight and spots so worn down by sweat and use that they might as well have been there originally.

Dalburn stared from across the field, not quite believing that his former opponent could stand, yet alone hold a sword. The sick man chuckled, "Admirable. You won't even accept defeat with your crew defeated and your body gushing blood. If you value any purpose in your life, stand down. Or so help me I will break every bone in your body."

Zoro made no reaction; he simply continued to blankly stare at the character shouting at him. He gazed at him with nothing more than the attention which you would pay an ant. His devoured eyes cast around the field, noticing the crumpled comrades yet made no response to them either.

"Now, now Dalburn. I wouldn't underestimate him quite yet." Doflamingo said coyly, leaning forward with intrigue towards the swordsman. His fingers played against the tip of his face and twisted at the short blonde curls in his hair.

Dalburn swiveled back around to his captain with a confused look. "What? I beat him once and I'll damn well do it again."

"Hmmm…" Doflamingo mumbled, picking at his lip with the tip of his fingernail. "I wouldn't be so sure."

"What makes you so confident in this guy? He didn't seem like much special to me!" Dalburn shouted, slightly enraged at his captains lack of faith in his abilities.

Doflamingo ignored his crew member, shaking his hand dismissively. "We shall see. Now pay attention. He's coming for you." Doflamingo said quietly with a minor chuckle.

Dalburn swiftly turned around, his arms already cocked and intense look of fear and surprise in his eyes. Yet Zoro remained at the other side of the field, not having moving a single inch.

"What the hell do you mean he's coming for me? He hasn't even moved!" Dalburn shouted, now not even trying to contain his anger. Doflamingo just laughed and remained silent.

Dalburn cursed under his breath. "He's not that good and he's not that –

And that's when Zoro's fist plowed into the side of Dalburn's cheek. Dalburn tumbled backwards, his reflexes unable to catch or protect him. The man let out surprised gasp before turning around to the direction of where the punch came from, yet nobody was there.

"Punch me! What the hell are your swords for?" Dalburn shouted, raising his arms defensively and pivoting in a circle, seeking out his green haired opponent. He rotated his jaw around, still feeling the sharp bruising from the punch.

And suddenly he felt the coursing sting of steel seep through his calf. He yelled and jumped back, swinging his leg high into the air. Zoro deflected the kick with the raise of his other sword as he held on tightly to the sword that was currently immerged into Dalburn's lower leg. Blood began to spurt from the sword wound as Dalburn once again leapt back, trying to separate the sword from his leg. With a sickening gleam, Zoro twisted his sword in his hand, revolving the sword and twisting the wound. Dalburn clenched his jaw in pain and swung his other leg towards Zoro's head. The blow connected and the swordsman stumbled backwards, removing the sword from Dalburn's leg.

Dalburn painted heavily and attempted to push weight down on his injured leg, which barely stood as the muscles were all severed in Zoro's attack. The beastly man clenched his fists, complete with the brass knuckles. He sprinted towards Zoro, a look of dead seriousness in his eye.

Left, right, left, left, uppercut, right, left, gut- Dalburn let out a flurry of punches, all of them connecting on Zoro's limp body. Zoro attempted to dodge some, but the quantity was just too much for his nimble body. The swordsman body shook violently with every blow and a red fog of blood soon surrounded his body as that precious crimson liquid dripped out with every blow. Dalburn didn't stop for some time, treating Zoro's rag doll body as if it were a punching bag, sending barrage after barrage into the broken body and hearing every bone break and crack. Finally, Dalburn plowed his brass knuckles into the crevice of Zoro's nose, sending the swordsman flying several feet backwards.

Dalburn stood over the body, panting and glaring at the motionless figure below. "Bastard…" Dalburn murmured, slowly backing up from the body and gently touching his calf wound, which had begun to foster and swell with a purplish hue. _He's not getting up after that. Sure hope Doflamingo isn't too disappointed that I killed his latest, well, project._

"I suppose it's my turn now."

Dalburn whipped around, not sure of where the voice came from- only to see Zoro standing as if nothing had happened, gently licking blood off of his sword and wiping the blood from his nose, which had proceeded to crack and break in several different places.

"What the hell?" Dalburn muttered. _He should be dead. Every bone should be broken. He shouldn't be able to breath, let alone stand, let alone be alive! What the hell is he?_

But Dalburn didn't have the time to contemplate his opponent anymore as before he was aware of what was going on, he felt the cool sword touch his shoulders. He spun, reflexes activating before his mind could understand the situation. But the twist was the wrong way and a gash emerged on his shoulder as Dalburn backed away from where the attack came.

Another sword touched his left arm, and another barely missed his neck. The moss haired swordsman's arms were dashing in every direction and it took all that Dalburn had to avoid every stroke of the sword that seemed so intent on killing him.

Then, for just the shortest second, Dalburn glanced at the attackers eyes and paused. Soulless. They were empty, the pupils had faded and the entirety of the green had disappeared, only to be replaced with an animalistic instinct which shuddered Dalburn to his very core. And looking closely, at the edges of Zoro's figure, Dalburn could see nothing but darkness. A subtle aura gleaned off of the bloodied skin of his opponent. The background behind him was distorted and the black rimming seemed to almost be pulsing next to Zoro's body. It seemed to hiss, to tell every fiber of Dalburn's body to run, to back away, to leave or be consumed by not the rage, not the anger, but the darkness which flooded Zoro's soul.

And instinctively, Dalburn flinched. He could not help it, every hair on his body stood up when he looked Zoro in the eyes. Every molecule in his body screamed of something unnatural.

Run.

That's all his body told him. Was to run.

Get as far away as possible.

And his attacker recognized this fear, recognized that split second of faltering which his victim presented. Zoro slashed his sword diagonally, ripping a gash across Dalburn's chest, mirroring the one on his own chest from Mihawk. Another slash, this time completely severing the right arm of Dalburn. The arm fell uselessly to the ground, bouncing pathetically over the grassy field. Blood erupted from the wound and Dalburn began to scream, seeing his own arm suddenly separated from him.

And then his left arm fell to the ground as well, this time severed at the bridge of the shoulder. The gruesome scene did not stop the swordsman, who darted around the collapsed Dalburn, prodding him with holes and unleashing a rampage of blood.

Zoro, which such a sharp precision, continued to pilfer away at Dalburn. Another swing, another slash. More blood added to the field, more blood staining Zoro's body. His swords cooed in delight as his victim began to beg, pleading with whatever consciousness he could muster for his life.

And soon the begging stopped as Dalburn slipped away into the realm of unconsciousness and death.

Yet Zoro did not stop. Another slash. Another brutal blow struck the body, which only shook in response. Dalburn's chest, once so intimidating, was torn apart, ravaged by the savage nature of the sword.

And even after the heart stopped, even after all of the blood stopped circulating and the life of Dalburn ceased, Zoro did not.

His swords dove into the bones, crushing every muscle of ever limb that ever existed in the man called Dalburn. The corpse was now unrecognizable, so distorted with the slashes and gaps and blood that it could have been identified as any poor, unfortunate soul.

And even then, when the bones had been ground to dust and body had been split into so many parts, Zoro did not stop.

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His crew watched from their dingy views in the field. At first there was the shock of their comrade standing, the hope that brewed in their chests, despite Zoro's comment of choosing his dream. Then there was the continued shock of Zoro punching Dalburn. Punching him. Not to their knowledge, besides Sanjii, had Zoro ever punched a person in place of his swords.

But Sanjii saw something different. It wasn't just unusual, it was the same. The Zoro who punched him last night, he began to see forming in this battle. He recognized the cold exterior that exerted across the battle field. But more than that, when Zoro punched Dalburn, Sanjii felt it. He felt it in his nose and a tearing in his heart. Something was wrong with Zoro. Something had driven him so far into the corner, so far in the realm of danger that he had lost himself. And Sanjii could see it. He could see how every blow Dalburn struck, how little effect they had on the disguised swordsman. And when Zoro began to strike back, that's when it became apparent. Sanjii could see the speckled black aura that edged around Zoro's figure. He could see the pure desire to destroy in his eyes- not the desire to win or to protect that was normally there. But to destroy. And it terrified Sanjii.

And destroy was just what Zoro did. He did not stop. And the crew just lay in the field, unsure of what was happening, what to do, how to stop Zoro.

Suddenly, Robin stood up, her strength returning to her enough to make the journey towards Zoro. She conquered whatever fears had subdued the rest of the crew when they saw Zoro in his bloodthirsty state. _I don't know what he's doing, but somebody needs to do something._

"Stop! Swordsman-san. Please, stop, he has been defeated." She shouted at him, but he continued to dice the body, either not hearing her or ignoring her plea.

Robin limped towards the swordsman, her hands bloodied and broken, yet she continued to walk towards him. Her body was shaking. Her feet wanted to run in the other direction, to get away to saftey. _It's just Zoro, just Zoro_ she told herself, trying to calm down her nerves.

"Swordsman-san! That is enough!" Robin shouted again, getting closer. Once again, no reaction.

She crept behind Zoro, whose intensity was so focused on the disintegrated victim of his swords. _It's just Zoro, just Zoro_

"Stop! Swordsman-san!" Robin shouted, almost in his ear. Yet Zoro ignored. Her heartbeat was pounding and she could feel herself sweating and shaking. Run. Run. Run. But she fought her instinct, told herself to stay next to her swordsman.

"Zoro!" She cried, reaching her arm out to his shoulder to stop him.

Without warning, Zoro turned around, and plunged his sword right down Robin's chest.

Surprise riddled across her face as she looked down at the gaping wound that had formed across her body. She looked back up to Zoro for a moment, seeing a harsh, devilish look in his eyes that quickly faded back to his normal emerald and he looked about as shocked as she did. And then Robin collapsed to the ground, blood already beginning to pool around her as Chopper, with what little strength he had rushed towards her and Sanjii, hobbling, if not crawling, towards his falling woman, screaming her name and cursing furiously at Zoro.

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But Zoro did not hear the screams and shrieks of his crew. Everybody was yelling, screaming, crying, in terror, in paint, but those sounds did not reach Zoro's ears. Everything was so deathly silent for him. Not the wind, not the crying chef, not the yelps of Nami- only the quiet.

Zoro's eyes glanced down at Robin and suddenly he was overcome with a sense of uncertainty, of how she got there, why she was there, why she was bleeding. _I did that._ Zoro thought, without a single trace of guilt, but not quite remembering how or why. Only the certainty that he did that.

He looked up to Sanjii who was huddled around Robin's slowly breathing body, tightly gripping her hand and whispering soft words to her and then spewing unbelievably rage towards Zoro. He probably would have gotten up and attacked Zoro, had his legs not been broken and Robin muttered words of peace to him. Chopper edged away from Zoro, strapping Robin with slight medical supplies and not even daring up to glance at Zoro or treat his wounds. And further away Nami was saying something to him. Her lips were moving and Zoro was certain she was shouting things in disbelief at him. But he heard none of their words. Only the silence.

Across the field Zoro's eyes wandered towards Doflamingos figure escaping between the tree linings into the depth of the forest. And with a deadly smile and a wagging finger, Doflamingo chuckled and shouted towards Zoro, "See? I told you they were in your way."

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**Authors Note: Review as always… I probably could have done a bit more with this chapter, playing on Zoro's darkness and whatnot. But I knew that if I don't put it out today, it'll take me another few weeks to just sit down and upload it. So you all get the rough copy. Hope you don't mind!**


	8. Chapter 8: Accident Written in Blood

**Authors Note: What? Only 1 month, not a year? WEIRD. I'm actually doing what I should do….**

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_Doflamingo chuckled and shouted towards Zoro, "See? I told you they were in your way._

_In my way_, Zoro thought numbly. Maybe mentally they had always served as a minor disruption, the constant nagging that they were clueless and proving to be more useless as time went by. But they were never in the way physically. Zoro looked down at his hands, still clenching the swords and soaked in sweat. They were shaking violently as Robins blood dripped slowly off of the end of one of them. Her blood ended on the ground with short splashing noises.

Chopper looked at Robin's bleeding figure with some relief. Zoro's blow had missed her heart and other vital organs. It slashed through the entire layer of skin and tore through a few ribs, but other than a scar she would be fine. Luffy, finally gracing the bloody scene ripped off his shirt and handed it to Chopper and sunk down on his knees.

"What can I do?" The captain asked, his eyes dead serious and dropped down, staring at his fallen comrade.

Chopper took his shirt and pressed it down over the wound, applying as much pressure as possible. "Go back to the ship, get Brooke and Franky; she'll be fine if I can just stop the bleeding."

Luffy let out a nod and prepared to stretch out his arm. Right before shooting it back to the ship he shot a look at Zoro. It was not a glance of anger or hatred, but the look of disappointment a father gives to a child. Sadness lurked in Luffy's eyes in regards to his first mate as he shot off to the ship.

Zoro saw Luffys look and couldn't help but recognize a feeling of guilt welling in his stomach. But it was quickly dismissed. _An accident. That's all it was. I was fighting that man, I couldn't help it, and I just wanted to see him pay. For beating the crew…No. For beating me. But I was trying to save our damn lives! And just she got in my way._ He swallowed hard, hearing Doflamingos words echo in his mind.

_An accident._ He thought again, repeating it as if that would make it far truer. But he still remembered hearing her voice and ignoring it, too focused on the already defeated enemy. He still remembered the touch of her hand on her shoulder as she tried to calm him. The rage towards her disrupting his battle- That sickening feeling of wanting to destroy, to finish what was started and she walked in a ruined that moment._ I can't think of that right now. We just need to get back to the ship, away from this island, away from Doflamingo._ But in his gut, Zoro could feel that Doflamingo would be back and things were only going to get worse.

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Franky and Brooke were shot back to the field by Luffy, their faces full of shock and surprise. Franky gathered up the bleeding black haired woman in his arms and sprinted off back to the ship, with Chopper riding on the top of his head, gripping his blue hair for support. Brooke assisted Sanjii, whose leg had been set straight in a splint and bandaged slightly, back to the ship with one arm as Nami and Usopp limped alongside.

Nami launched into the tale of what happened, describing Doflamingos appearance and the fight with Dalburn. Usopp didn't even interrupt to mention his heroics, his heart and mind were too numb from the fight and Zoro's actions.

"One of the seven warlords of the sea… What reason could he possibly have to attack us?" Brooke asked.

"Maybe he wanted to crush us before we got any stronger," Usopp thought out loud, "But it doesn't make any sense as too why he left when we were all defeated…"

"I don't care what reason right now, I just want Robin to be alright." Sanjii said bitterly. Usopp just nodded in response.

"She will be. You heard Chopper, she'll be fine. Choppers a great doctor, the best probably and he's going to make sure she's fine." Nami said with such confidence, and she fully believed it. She saw the blood; she saw the horrid wound which ripped open her fellow females' chest. She saw the damage, but she also knew what Chopper could do and she believed in that.

"How did she get that wound?" Brooke asked cautiously, "I thought you said the Dalburn guy used his fists."

"It wasn't him." Usopp murmured softly.

"Doflamingo?"

"…No" Usopp's face cringed; he didn't want to say who delivered the blow.

"Was it in her fight with that fat guy?" Nami just shook her head, 'no'.

Brooke paused, his boney feet halting and part of him just didn't want to even ask the next question. He didn't want to ask who, who did this horrible thing to his crewmate. Judging from the bitter and saddened faces of his companions he didn't want to know the answer. Nami looked confused, close to tears, and was constantly flipping her hand over her hair to distract herself. Usopp seemed dumbfounded, watching his feet scuff along the sandy banks and his eyes seemed lifeless. Sanjii, who arm was slumped around Brookes to support his weight, seemed far more angry than sad. His jaw line was tight and his face was drawn into a coarse frown. But Brooke knew that he needed to know. That somebody had to say out loud what happened. "Who… Who was it?"

The beach was silent, none of his companions even dared to speak. The silence was awkward and intense. The others were ashamed because they didn't want to answer, they didn't want to admit what actually happened. Brooke was about to ask again, when Sanjii interjected the silence,

"Zoro."

The silence returned, and this time it enveloped Brooke as well. The skeleton carefully turned around, craning his head to see Zoro who was still standing in the field, not having moved an inch in the time that Brooke had arrived- His swords still gripped in his hands, his body stiff and rigid, facing down at the spot where Robin was several minutes ago. Zoro was drenched in blood, more crimson covering his body than skin. His mossy hair was dyed almost black and was crusted over with dried blood. Suddenly Brooke found himself thinking how much of that blood was Robins.

The skeleton's mouth hung open and if he had possessed eyes they surely would have popped out of his head. "What? How is that possible? It must have been an accident!" Brooke exclaimed, almost throwing his hands up dramatically had Sanjii not been slumped over one.

"It better have been an accident," Sanjii's eyes grew dark under his blonde hair, "if not than even hell is a place for that bastard."

Brooke's bony face grew into a grimace as he nodded slightly and the rest of the group continued on towards the ship in a dull silence.

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After hours of waiting, fiddling their fingers and staring dismally at the scratched deck, Chopper finally emerged from the medical room. He gave a big smile and told the crew that Robin would be fine and would regain consciousness by the end of the night. An enormous sigh of relief shook the ship. Luffy, sitting on top of an empty barrel, ruffled his hands through his hair and let out a deserved smile.

But after that nobody said anything. Sanjii limped off to the kitchen for a few minutes to make a drink for Nami. Chopper told him that his leg would be healed in about a week. The small reindeer gave his regular warnings; to avoid training, to not put too much stress on it, and to not start any fights with Zoro. It was pure reflex but after he said it, in such the joking manner he was used to, it seemed to take a sick and devastating tone after that afternoons events. Sanjii gave the reindeer a light smile, thinking to himself, _Too late._ His mind traveled back to his fight on the deck with Zoro and how he had no desire to fight with the swordsman again. Sure, he wanted to pummel and show him no mercy for the way he attacked Robin. He wanted to rip his head off and kick him until he bled the same she did. But he had no desire to fight as friends, to goof around in their bickering fights of fake hatred and joy. That feeling of friendship was burning in Sanjii's chest, but all he felt was fear. Fear that Zoro might actually kill him. He came close that one night, and he came close with Robin. Yes, avoiding fights with Zoro suddenly became a priority.

Nami was told her injuries would heal soon as well, but for once she paid no attention to her own injuries and her mind was focused on Robin, or more accurately Zoro's single stoke of a sword that may have changed the entire crew. She had always been stubborn with Zoro, squeezing and lending money, picking on him for sleeping all the time and being lazy, harassing him for fighting too often. She never thanked him for saving her ever, never congratulated him on a fight. She couldn't help but look at her relationship with him and see how disgusting it was. Not even when he stood up against Arlong did she thank him or appreciate him being there. He was just… there. Always there, always Zoro, ever since the beginning of the crew it was him, her and Luffy. _Are we even friends?_ She had to ask herself.

Chopper always tried to focus when he was taking care of a patient, of a friend. But when he was stitching up Robin all he could think about was Zoro's face, Zoro's rage. In her blood he saw Zoro, all of his hatred, all of those horrible things Chopper pretended not to see. He missed a stitch and he felt a tear slip out of his eye. But he shook his head, forcing himself to focus on Robin. Once he finished, when her blood was cleaned off the table and her wound had been fully stitched up, he could nothing else but let a few tears fall. Zoro. He was his hero. He was so determined, but not determined to kill. He was so strong, but never against his friends. He was so proud, but not at the sacrifice of another. He was Zoro. Chopper tried to think of his face, his smiling face with a beer in his hand or the face of focus while training. The only image that came to his face was the one he saw as his sword swung into Dalburn's body over and over again. Those slits of eyes, so shallow and unforgiving. His friend, his hero… and Chopper was afraid of him.

_How many of my stories did he sit through? How many times did I tell him my adventures? How many times did I tell him how strong I was? How many times did he put with up my lies…? Did he ever know that I only wished I were as strong as him?_ Usopp had never thought so hard in his life. Things had been off with Zoro, he had seen that in the last week. He was more on edge, more cynical, his face was in a frown more than a smile. Usopp pushed it off on him going through a phase, like a teenage boy or on his period like some teenage girl. But now he couldn't help but think something was seriously wrong- That this crew had pushed him to the edge of insanity. He had always been the most serious person of the crew. He remembered how Zoro wouldn't let Luffy take him back to the crew unless he apologized. He was proud and he was more of an image of a pirate than any of them. He wasn't heartless or a scoundrel, but he was serious and determined. And for Usopp, whose dream was as vague as just being a great warrior, he couldn't understand what it meant to have a dream with a solid goal. And he realized of how little of Zoro he actually understood.

Luffy sat on his normal perch, his legs dangling off the side of the head of the ship and his hands and elbows propping up his head. And he just stared off into the sea. He could think about, he could judge Zoro, but that wouldn't be Luffy. At first he was going to push it off as an accident, but as captain, as a crew, as a friend he couldn't pretend that nothing happened.

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Zoro had stayed on the field for nearly 3 hours. After a while his head just went numb. He stopped thinking and just stared at the pile of Robin's blood that had soaked into the grass. His fists still clenched his swords and began to throb from the pain. He began to feel his wounds, stinging and burning from the crisp salty air that blew in from the ocean.

_This is her blood on my sword. HER blood on MY sword._ He screamed in his head but no matter how loud he said it he couldn't bring up an emotion of guilt. He felt grossly justified and he couldn't figure out why. _It was an accident._ He said for the hundredth time.

But a little voice of doubt whispered inside of his mind. _But I wanted to. I wanted to keep going, to destroy that man for ever being able to beat me. I wanted to stop her from stopping me._

He shook his head. It was far worse than that. _Maybe I just liked the feel. The feel of my swords as they sink through flesh. That power, that control, that's what it means to be a swordsman._ He looked dismally up to the sky. _I'm not a swordsman of honor am I? I enjoy death too much and it's been far too long since… Ah shit I need to stop this. I struck Robin. That happened. I did it. Why, I'm not sure but I'm not going to waste any more time standing in this bloody field ready to pass out._

And with that Zoro began what felt like the longest walk back to the ship. His feet dragged against the sand, finding them heavy and hard to lift from the injuries. Suddenly the pain began to start up again as some of his wounds reopened and fresher blood dribbled out of his body. Finally though, the ship came into his sight and Zoro found himself dreading the crew's reactions.

He hopped up the side of the ships ladder and landed less than gracefully on the deck and was met with the faces of all of the crew, with the exception of Robin. Everyone just stood there for several moments, holding their breaths and their words. The silence was more awkward than deadly, but Zoro still sensed the air of fear radiating from many of his crew mates.

He expected somebody to say something. To ask him why, just so he could shrug it off or mumble out an answer. He expected Sanjii to pull him over and slam a kick into his face; maybe he wanted that, just a little sense of normal. He expected Nami to scream at him, throw her fist in his direction. He expected Chopper to look up at him with innocent little eyes and ask him why. He expected Luffy to at least come up and talk to him, to either forgive him or tell him to get off the ship. He expected something, but was met with nothing more than awkward glares and silence.

Zoro partly thought he should say something, but what could he say? Sorry? Explain it when he didn't even understand it? No, he could do none of that. So instead he kept his face straight and marched towards one of the hallways. Nobody made any movements so he continued on into the hallway, gently shutting the door and prodding towards some random room to go sleep for a while.

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When Zoro entered the ship Luffy wanted to say something. It was burning on his tongue to talk to his first mate. But he hated to admit, but Zoro began to worry him. Luffy could not stop questioning whether he was a bad captain, a bad friend. Whether he really was taking away from Zoro's potential. And when he saw Zoro he realized that maybe he had. He had been so swept up in helping other people that he never bothered to help his crew. But Zoro didn't need help; he never asked for help, he never needed it. But Luffy came to believe he was hindering his crewmate, distracting him from his goal- maybe even from Luffy's own goal. Had he just been wasting time?. And when he saw Zoro he couldn't say anything, he felt it was his fault. His fault everything happened. His fault they almost lost to Dalburn and his fault that Zoro slashed Robin. So Luffy did one of the rarest things- he stayed silent.

But once he was out of the deck Sanjii jumped up with a distressed look on his face.

"Well? Are we just going to ignore the giant moss haired elephant in the room?" He said bitterly and the crew looked down slightly ashamed, but nobody spoke.

Getting rudely sick of the silence, Sanjii marched over to Luffy and thrust his finger in his face. "You're the damn captain. He's your damn first mate. Go." And then pointed towards the door that Zoro entered. Luffy nodded slowly and timidly. He stood up, but Sanjii could tell he was petrified and scared to talk to his first mate. He had never talked seriously with Zoro and Sanjii doubted that Luffy even knew what to say. Sanjii swallowed hard and placed his hand on top of Luffy's hat. "I'm going with you." Luffy looked up and part of him wanted to do it himself, to do the duty of a captain, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. So he nodded and accepted Sanjii's help and the two of them followed into the hallways.

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The pair found Zoro sleeping, or feigning sleep a few rooms into the hallway. His head was propped against a cold wall and his eyes were closed, but from his clenched fists it was obvious he was not asleep. Sanjii and Luffy approached him, neither quite knowing what to say.

Sanjii swung his good foot into Zoro's chest. "Wake up Shit head." He said roughly as Zoro began to stir and his hand shot to his chest, where more blood began to leak out. Luffy held Sanjii back from kicking him again. It was obvious how much Zoro was in. His body was riddled with blood and wounds, many still open having not received any medical attention from chopper.

"Zoro," Luffy began but paused, taking a deep breath. "Am I a bad captain?"

Sanjii swiveled around to stare at the young teen whose face was solemnly staring at his first mate. That was not the question he was expecting.

Zoro opened his eyes and stared up at the captain but did not speak; he just let his emerald eyes connect with Luffy's brown. A moment of silence before Luffy nodded sadly, "I see."

"Whoa, whoa, Luffy you're not a bad captain!" Sanjii exclaimed, surprised by the captains question.

"I must be. I haven't helped any of you reach your dreams."

"That's not your job! Your job is to be our captain, to follow your dream, to sail to one piece. Not to help us reach our dreams! That's our problem." Sanjii shouted at his captain, shooting a harsh glare to Zoro, urging the man to join in and help. But Zoro just continued to stare at his captain.

"Zoro," Luffy started again, "Why did you choose your dream over us?"

Sanjii paused, barely even remembering the dream or nakama issue. It had been overshadowed by Robin's problem. _Is this what's really bothering you Luffy?_ He thought.

Zoro took a deep breath trying to gather his thoughts. "I promised Kuina I would be the world's greatest swordsman. That has always been my dream, my life's sole goal. Not to make friends, not to spend time loitering on islands helping people. And that promise is the worth of my existence"

"Yes, but over us? Over everything we've been through?" Sanjii interjected.

"Yes. I would give my life to save any of you, but it doesn't make me stronger. It makes me weaker. I rely on you guys. I will be the greatest swordsman, but by my own strength. You all will not be there when I face Mihawk. I can't choose friendship over strength." Zoro said, feeling slightly selfish and harsh, but knowing that he had earned a moment of selfishness.

"Is strength really that much more important? Is your dream of becoming some stupid swordsman more important than friendship?" Sanjii shouted again and he felt his heart begin to tear.

"Yes." Zoro responded and the room filled with silence. _There is so much more. So much I can't explain to you two. But it is my dream and I will reach it, as simple as that_. _But it's just a hypothetical question! It will never come to that…_ Luffy began to gaze at the floor.

"Are we even friends?" Luffy asked softly, his fists clenched and his heart dropped down into his stomach.

Zoro bit the inside of his lip, thinking about the question. _I'm not like them. I don't laugh and waste my time on the useless things. I have pride and determination and I show it, I don't hide it until the crucial moments. I'm not like them._ But instead he said "Yes."

"How can you say that when you would choose some freaking dream or promise that you made you some damn childhood friend an eternity ago over us? What kind of a friend does that?" Sanjii screamed at Zoro, ready to launch another kick at Zoro but Luffy stopped him.

"And what kind of friends would we be to stand in the way of his dreams?" Luffy turned to Sanjii and asked gently. Sanjii hung his head, unsure of what he was feeling.

"Then what about Robin?" Sanjii asked, this time more calmly. "How dare you harm her…?"

"That's enough Sanjii!" Luffy shouted. He too was unsure of what to think, but he knew he had nothing more to ask Zoro. "Robin's fine and that is what matters!"

"But he attacked her! You saw it with your own damn eyes. You can not just let this go Luffy!" Sanjii rebutted. But Luffy shook his head.

"I can and I will. For now. It's been a long day. We're leaving Sanjii." Luffy said with strictness in his voice that Sanjii had never heard.

"But you-"

"We're leaving!" Luffy said as he ushered Sanjii towards the door, practically shoving him through the doorway.

He looked back at his swordsman, slumped against the wall with his haunting green eyes still staring at Luffy with mild confusion.

"I'll send Chopper in to treat your wounds." Luffy mumbled as he shut the door, too tired to look at his swordsman anymore.

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**Authors Note: Sorry about the kind of boring chapter. I wanted to show a few other characters perspectives. Sorry if some people are a little Out of Character. Review please!**


	9. Chapter 9: Mocking My Disaster Dream

**Authors Note: Shorter chapters, but quicker updates. About every month if I can keep it up with school. 7 AP classes and two varsity sports… It's going to be crazy. And 3, sort of 4, stories to update. My Teen wolf fan fiction has literally blown up. Over 80 reviews and 130 alerts! This story has only 30 reviews and 25 alerts, but none the less this story will always hold a special place in my heart. If you like Teen Wolf check it out, it's got a little bit of the theme of this story where the darker bad guy draws every bodies favorite character to his side... Check it out!**

**Just caught up on the manga and I heard Doflamingos name… Finally we get to learn more about him! My theory is he is two different people… one that is calm and collected and another that is a bit of crazy one… If it turns out to be like that I'll try to adjust my story. But it's just a theory.**

_Zoro took a deep breath trying to gather his thoughts. "I promised Kuina I would be the world's greatest swordsman. That has always been my dream, my life's sole goal. Not to make friends, not to spend time loitering on islands helping people. And that promise is the worth of my existence"_

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Zoro had already slumped into a soft realm of unconsciousness mixed with sleep by the time Chopper entered the room. The little reindeer couldn't help but be relieved, the thought of talking to Zoro or looking into those emerald eyes and asking what happened, or worse wait in silence, seemed horrifying. So he entered with his doctor's kit and set to work on Zoro's wounds. His needle patched and stitched up a multitude of wounds. He closed them and wrapped nearly every inch of Zoro's body tightly with gauze. At the end, Zoro began to look slightly like a mummy, coddled and wrapped between pieces of bloodied tissue.

Chopper stared at his swordsman as he was about to leave, his eyes lingering over each wound that was gushing blood moments before. It was a wonder the swordsman could survive every battle. He had lost nearly all the blood in his body, he had knocked on deaths door so many times that he may very well have the key to the door. By all means, Zoro should be dead. But he wasn't. _How much longer can he keep this up?_ Chopper thought sadly as he gently shut the door behind him, leaving the swordsman still slumbering against the wall.

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Days passed in an awkward silence. The crew had prepared to leave the island and set sail for next direction of the log pose. Usopp and Franky had constantly tried to lighten the mood, causing their normal ruckus and loud noises in hopes of bringing a sense of normality to the crew. Nami was buried in her books plotting the course to the next island, with Brooke peeping in on her, trying to make her smile. Sanjii had become grossly overprotecting of Nami and Robin. He checked in on Robin nearly every hour. She had stabilized but remained in the medical room, reading her books or staring out the window overlooking the sea.

Every time Sanjii entered it was obvious the subject of Zoro was burning on his tongue. But Robin beat him to the punch and repeatedly defended her swordsman, telling Sanjii it was "an accident." Nothing but an accident.

But in those moments were Sanjii left to cook or to flounce about Nami, Robin couldn't help but see Zoro's face burning in her mind.

The look of pure rage when she interrupted his attack. It wasn't insanity; it was concentrated will to destroy. That look that he shot her as he swung his sword into her breast almost hurt more than the wound itself. In that moment he hated her. There was no way to look into his face and see anything else but hatred and angst. At first she thought it was for Dalburn, but slowly she realized it was for her. For the crew. All she could feel was hatred burning off of him.

And it frightened her to the core. His eyes looked sick, his muscles looked repulsive, and every move he made replayed in her mind with a burning desire to kill.

"Just an accident…" Robin said drearily as she gazed out onto the crashing waves. _I was just in the way…_

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Nobody talked about Zoro, mentioned his name. They all knew what happened but silence held tight to their tongues on the subject of his name. All except for Sanjii. After that night, Sanjii had tried to talk to Luffy over a thousand times. He wanted Zoro to be punished, he wanted Robin to be okay, he wanted Zoro to be okay, and he wanted Luffy to do something! But after several hours of pressuring, Luffy snapped and whipped up his hand, pressing Sanjii against the wall.

"Listen to me." The straw hat said darkly. "Drop it. I am the captain and I will deal with it when the time comes."

_You're afraid of him._ Sanjii thought after that event. _You're afraid to deal with your perfect crew falling apart. You're afraid he might leave, you're afraid he might hate you. You're not afraid of his strength, like the rest of us, but you're afraid of what he might do. You're afraid he'll leave._

Sanjii couldn't bring himself to drop it. He kept his eyes out for Zoro. He would have snuck into his room, but Chopper had given strict orders that Zoro was literally on his last legs and he needed rest. Chopper didn't drug him, he had learned from that mistake, but he knew Zoro wouldn't leave the room. Zoro wasn't a coward, but nobody would ever want to face the darkened looks of confusion and sadness that the crew would present him with.

It didn't matter to Sanjii; he wanted to talk to Zoro. To yell, to fight, to make sure he was okay. So many emotions swirled around about that moss haired moron. And Sanjii knew they'd come out eventually.

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Sanjii had often thought about the night where he fought with Zoro. They didn't really fight about anything; it was nothing more than a spit on the floor or waking him up for dinner. Sanjii still cringed thinking about how their friendly spats had transitioned into this deadly and fierce battle. _What changed?_ The cook thought, but eventually shook the thought out of his head.

Tonight was the night, he told himself. Luffy wouldn't do anything. The rest of the crew just wanted to go back to normal, to pretend everything never happened. But Sanjii couldn't let go of it, the attack on Robin struck a special nerve with him and the poor reactions and effort from the crew only added to that frustration.

Tonight is the night, he said again. He left the kitchen with something fruity simmering over a boiling pot of water and a scorching oven. Zoro's room was only down the hallway.

Tonight is the night, Sanjii thought with confidence as his knuckles tapped against the worn wooden door of Zoro's room. There was no response. Next, Sanjii banged, slamming his entire fist into the door severely times. Nothing stirred inside the room. _Maybe he's sleeping… Well I guess this won't be the first time I've woken up the unhappy shit head._

"Oiy," Sanjii shouted into the door, "Open the door or I'm coming in."

At first there was silence, but eventually footsteps echoed inside the room and Zoro creaked open the door.

He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Dark bags loomed under his eyes and his eyelids drooped over top of bland eyes. His hair was coarse from lack of a shower and even his muscles looked dull from days without working out.

"What do you want?" Zoro said bluntly. His eyes seemed to gaze right past Sanjii.

"We need to talk." Sanjii replied with a hard swallow.

"We're talking now." Zoro shot back sharply. "What do you want?"

Sanjii bit the edge of his lip and took a deep breath. "About Robin. Was it really an accident?"

Zoro stood there in silence. He leaned up against the door with his arms crossed against his chest. He had debated that question in his head for days and nights. "Yes."

Sanjii honestly expected more than just a one word answer. Part of him thought Zoro would deny it, but it looked like the feisty nature had fled over the last few days. _Are you sure? How could you hurt her? We watched… that was no accident. She was trying to stop you. Why were you attacking him so furiously? _Sanjii thought of a thousand responses, but eventually he realized it wouldn't change anything.

"Don't you ever have a damn accident like that again." Sanjii said with as much of a threatening tone that he could muster.

Sanjii thought he heard the swordsman mutter "No promises" under his breath. Zoro turned to shut the door in Sanjii's face, but the chef quickly stuck his foot in the doorway.

_I'm not done with you yet._ He thought, but remembered the power of those words and the reaction they stirred in Zoro about a week ago.

"And what of the dream and nakama situation?" Sanjii asked again. It was a broad question, but he wanted something more than what Zoro gave him and Luffy.

"It was just a hypothetical question. Let it go." Zoro said darkly.

"I can't." Sanjii said. "And neither can Luffy." _He's your captain. How can you not see how much that hurt him? _

Zoro's eye twitched up and avoided looking anywhere but at Sanjii. "I already explained myself to you two." _Which I shouldn't have to._

_After Robin… After Luffy… Is that really all you can say?_ Sanjii thought desperately.

"You would choose everything over us! You attacked one of your own and you don't even have the balls to apologize to her." Sanjii felt his voice escalate.

"I don't need to! I saved your asses in case you forgot about that."

"Nobody on the crew can even mention your name! Nami tears up and Luffy just stops. Stops breathing, stops functioning, all because of your damn actions." Sanjii yelled, gesturing wild motions with his hands.

Zoro remained silent.

"You're tearing this crew apart and you won't even do anything to save it!" Sanjii prodded his finger into Zoro's chest.

_Is it even worth saving?_ Zoro thought.

_Are you even worth saving anymore?_ Sanjii thought.

"You're a coward." Sanjii mocked. "A traitor."

"A traitor?" Zoro snapped back, emotion finally filling his face.

Sanjii swallowed hard, immediately wanting to reach in the past and pull the word back into his lips.

"How many times have I almost died for this crew? How many times have I put everything on the line? How dare you call me a traitor?" Zoro's eyes began to burn, not from salty tears, but from anger welling up.

"How dare you choose everything over us! Over your friends!" Sanjii yelled. "You can take your damn dream and shove it up your ass." _If that's the only reason you're with us, then you need to check yourself._

"Right, because going to catch some fish and cook them is a really admirable dream!" Zoro shouted back in a mocking tone.

"More so than a stupid promise you made to a stupid girl when you were nothing but a stupid boy who didn't know anything!"

Within a moment, Zoro's sword was pressed against Sanjii's throat.

A little droplet of blood hung at the edge of Sanjii's neck by the sharpened edge of the blade. Sanjii's eyes grew wide at the touch.

Sanjii could feel the anger bubble up inside of him. Everything was wrong.

"You take that back." Zoro whispered.

"You take back attacking Robin."

Zoro's eyes flinched slightly. "Don't mock my dream."

"It's stupid. It's selfish. It won't bring your dead friend back!" Sanjii shouted. He knew that was the reason for Zoro's dream. He felt bringing that glory would signify Kuinas death. It would bring her back, even if for a moment.

"Shut up!"

"She's dead and beating some man won't bring her back! You're killing yourself and hurting others, for what? Some promise?" Sanjii said with every ounce of seriousness he could muster.

"Enough!"

"No! I won't stand for you believing a promise to a dead girl is more important than the present friends you have." _If you even consider us friends._

"Sanjii, shut up!" Zoro pressed his sword harder into Sanjii and the cook backed up a step, but continued to look the swordsman harshly in the eye.

"No. You don't need to live your life for this stupid dream." _I'm doing this for you. Live your life for us. No, live it for you._

"I will live my life however I damn well please."

With a sudden spin Sanjii gripped the hilt of Zoro's sword and yanked it away from his throat.

Sanjii felt as thought he had nothing left to say to Zoro, he was tired of his answers, and he began to walk away with a sharp look at Zoro.

"Where the hell are you going?"

Sanjii wasn't quite sure why he felt so angry. He looked at the sword, burning hatred in Zoro's hands. He wanted Zoro to stop, to give up his dream. No, never give it up. But put it in perspective- To realize how in the scheme of life, how little it meant to everyone around. He couldn't choose it over them, and he wanted Zoro to realize that so bad. Not over him, not over every tear Nami has shed, not over every fight they had, not over every beer he had downed watching Luffy steal food. Not over them.

Sanjii walked back towards the kitchen, his head shaking dismally as he stormed away from Zoro. The swordsman bounded after him, sheathing is sword at his side.

Sanjii retreated into the comfort of the kitchen, where scents hung around the air and the pots and pans glistened, hanging up on a polished wall.

Zoro stood in the doorway of the kitchen glaring at Sanjii who paid him no mind, throwing spices into a pot filled with slimy ingredients.

_My dream. He dares to mock my dream. _

Zoro leapt at Sanjii and shoved him against the stove. His face was flushed with anger and his eyes lost all pupils. Both of the mens breathing became heavy as their eyes locked, faces barely inches from the other.

He gripped onto the skinny white wrists of the cook and look around. He eyed the pot bubbling on the stove; the water was boiling on top. Zoro took Sanjii's hands and shoved them into the boiling water that was sizzling on the top of the stove.

The cook let out a harsh scream, wrenching his hand from Zoro's grip and pulling it out of the water. But it was too late.

He looked down at his perfectly taken care of hands, not manicured, but protected for the sake of the cooking. They were swollen and bright red, with splotches of black and skin peeling off already. He could see the blood coarse around his hands from the burns. His hands began to sting after the shock had dismissed. His fingers would not move, they were burned and skin began to bubble up in sickening patches.

Sanjii shot Zoro a look of pure surprise.

His hands- The tools for cooking, the most precious thing to Sanjii, burnt and shriveled from scorching water.

"Don't you ever talk against another's dream." Zoro shouted as he walked out of the kitchen.

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**Authors Note:**

**I can't help but feel that Sanjii and Zoro were a little OOC… Oh well, at least it's an update!**


	10. Chapter 10: Defend Your Word

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**Authors Note: Guess who's a bad author? Bring out the spray bottles because it's me. Oh geez 8 months - Would've been longer if not for Reggie S 42. He/She reviewed such a great review and we got to talking and I was like "damn. I need a new chapter." So here you guys go!**

**Also, this story is set BEFORE the time warp and the most recent arc (the one in dress Rosa). I don't know all of Doflamingos character or background and I don't want to wait for it to appear.**

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Days passed and Sanjii had not seen Zoro since the incident. His hands had turned crispy and every ounce of flesh had sizzled off of his hands. At first, Sanjii was consumed with rage and anger. Zoro had purposely injured him, ruined his most prized possession, and spoke out against his dreams. It was everything that betrayal encompassed. Yet, there was no anger. His first concern was to bandage his hands- he did it by himself without Chopper. He didn't want to bring the fragile furry boy into this mess. How could he explain that Zoro did this? That his melted hands with scorched bones were the product of the man Chopper so admired?

The crew was slowly beginning to fall apart around Zoro, and Sanjii could see it. He loved his crew and though he would never admit it, he held great respect for Zoro. He was determined, he was strong, he was responsible- he was not this. He was not the kind of man to throw another mans hand into boiling water. That was not him.

And so, he could not lash out. Something was eating at Zoro; something dark and awful was corrupting him. But Sanjii knew that no matter what he tried Zoro would remain closed to him. So for the sake of saving what was left of the crew, he remained muted about his boiled hands.

Sanjii gritted his teeth and wrapped his hands and kept them wrapped for days. Surely, the rest of the crew noticed.

Luffy made subtly eye contact with the bandages in the middle of one of his ravaging feasts. Sanjii tried to hide it from the captain, but the moment Luffy saw the bandages his brain began to click together pieces. Almost immediately Luffys face sunk down when he realized Sanjii's hands were burnt because of Zoro. There was no way Sanjii would let his hands get burned like that. He paused, face deep into a piece of roasted meat, and his feelings were consumed by sadness and disappointment in himself. He could see his crew falling apart and not even a jesting eating competition from Usopp could lift his spirits.

Nami and Robin noticed the wrappings, as women always tend to do- They notice everything. Nami was ready to give hell to Zoro and all she wanted was to scream and hit him, to cry and ask him why, to kick him in the balls and then stab him through the heart. She wanted him to suffer, but more than that she wanted to understand. And the moment she saw Sanjii's battered bandages, she was ready to lunge out into the crows nest and she would have if Robin hadn't, quite literally, held her back. She felt Namis frustration at the unknown, but calmed her down with words that it was not her business. Nami shot back a response about this being the crews business and hence it was also hers. But Robin shook her head, stating that if Sanjii wanted to handle it he would. So instead, the women flocked around Sanjii, providing a well needed distraction for the conflicted chef.

Choppers doctor senses immediately tingled the moment he saw bandages. Nobody ever patched their own wounds when there was a doctor like Chopper on board, so it reeked of suspicion. Chopper debated confronting Sanjii about the bandages. He was so concerned for the chef's health and he had his own curiosity as to what happened, even though his gut had a dark feeling about it. He stopped Sanjii one night and asked him, but Sanjii just shook his head and his blonde hair dropped over both of his eyes. Chopper knew enough to not to push the man for answers.

And then there was Zoro. He avoided the kitchen at all costs and it had been days since he had eaten. But he didn't feel hungry. No, it was worse than that – he didn't feel anything.

There was no guilt.

He felt no regret.

Zoro knew no shame.

He shoved his best friend's hands into a pit of boiling water, and he felt nothing. Zoro knew he should feel bad. He should feel awful. He should feel disgusting and disgraceful. But there were none of those feelings.

_It should bother me_ Zoro thought at he pressed his fingers into his forehead. _But it doesn't. He mocked my dream, it feels like… justice. Justice for all the stupid things that cook has ever said and all of those stupid comments he makes towards me. I… don't even feel bad._

Maybe it was worse this way. He knew he had done something wrong, something horrible. And he couldn't feel bad about it. _There's something wrong with me…_

Days passed on the crew with an eerie silence. Every move felt so fake, so stressed, and so precious. The ship sailed smoothly across the sea, gently adding to the silence of the crew until a loud booming -

"LAND HOOOOOOOOO!"

The exclamation broke through the silence, causing Zoro to nearly flinch and fall out of the crows nest. He turned his head to the side with an audible creak. He'd been sleeping a lot lately due to the boredom and the silence of the ship. _Land… At least now there can be some excitement _Zoro thought, rubbing his eyes lightly, _or maybe there just will be more pointless "adventures" _he mentally scorned.

He leapt down from the nest, landing amongst the exhausted crew.

"Where are we at?" Zoro asked, looking at Nami. She held her eyes downcast, refusing to meet his green ones.

"It's just a small island that we can restock supplies on." She responded, not wanting to bore the rest of the crew with names of a useless island.

Luffy let out a familiar pout. "Aw… So it's a boring island?"

"Not boring Luffy, just a normal island." Robin chimed in.

"I don't want normal! I want an adventure!" Luffy whined with his lips stuck on a full blown pout.

_No, you want to waste your time on doing pointless things for pointless people_ Zoro mentally chided. _That's not an adventure._

Luffy continued to complain about the awful nature of the thing called "normal" and Zoro eventually tuned it out. The words drabbled on quietly in the back of his mind as he surveyed the crew that he hadn't seen in several days.

They all looked exhausted. Dark bags consumed their under eyes and sunk their face into their skull. Robin walked with a cane and was still hugged tightly by crisp bandages. Nami continued to stare down at the ground and Chopper was reflecting that same behavior. And then there was Sanjii.

Zoro looked at him last and part of him was scared to see the chef. His green eyes looked up and met the single eye of the cook. He was the first crewmate to look back at Zoro.

Zoro squinted, trying to figure out why the cook was staring at him. There was no anger, no hatred, no spite in that cooks eye. All Zoro saw was concern. It was a soft haze over Sanjii's eye that was kind.

It unnerved Zoro. _Pity_ Zoro thought disgustingly, ignoring the concern that was laced behind Sanjii's look. _Don't you give me that look. Don't you pity me._

"But I want to go explore the Island!" Luffy shouted, breaking Zoro's eye contact with Sanjii.

"I'll go with him." Sanjii said, noticing Nami's resentment to letting Luffy go find trouble. Somebody had to hold the youth back from danger and "adventure".

"Yes!" Luffy shouted, acting extra perky to attempt to raise his crew's low spirit. "Let's go!"

"OH no! You are not flinging me across the water." Sanjii backed up from his captain. 'I'll meet you at the island; I'll take the boat like a civil person."

"That's so boring!" Luffy cried out. He didn't wait for a response as his rubber arms crept up the ships post and he twisted slightly. With a large push Luffy was off, sailing through the air with a gleeful cry.

Sanjii just sighed, pranced over to his women and kissed their hands with a soft parting goodbye. He turned around near the dingy, catching Zoro's eye right then. There was something sickly intense about them. They felt cold and heartless. There was no desire, no dreams, and no friendship, nothing good in those eyes. It felt so wrong to look at them. With a stiff nod Sanjii descended into the dingy and began to paddle in the direction that Luffy flew.

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With Sanjii and Luffy departed, the deck of the ship became the definition of an awkward silence. Nami and Robin fiddled uncomfortably in Zoro's presence and he knew it. He could sense their discomfort.

_They don't trust me_ Zoro thought _Maybe that's best._

His mind flashed back to the sick feeling of joy he felt when his sword carved a lining into Robin's chest. It made perfect sense why she feared him and why Nami hated him so much.

Zoro let out a stretching yawn and out of the corner of his eye he saw Chopper flinch at the harmless act.

_This is ridiculous_. Zoro thought. He felt so constricted. Can't train, can't talk, and can't do anything without striking fear into his "friends."

He shook his mossy head. "I'm going for a walk."

"A walk?" Nami asked. _Where on Earth is he going to walk? The ships not that big…_

"On the island. Maybe a swim in the ocean. I'm just going to stretch my legs." Zoro responded.

Nami hesitated for a moment. _He's going on the island? Where Luffy and Sanjii are going? Is… Is he going to hurt them? Is he going to kill them? Were Sanjii's hands not enough?_

Awful questions ran through her mind and she tried to bring herself back. She tried to remind herself that this was _Zoro_, not some common murderer or betrayer. It was Zoro… so why was she so afraid to let him go?

Zoro noted the silence after he spoke and it was really beginning to drag on him. So much doubt and suspicion was directed towards it and made him nauseas. He didn't even wait for an answer from the women and Chopper. He rested his hand against the edge of the ship, took a large break, and clasped his hands together and dove into the icy sea water.

Nami initially gasped as she watched Zoro plunged gracefully into the water. She was terrified. Of him. Of his empty eyes, of his heartless acts, of who he was becoming. She didn't know what he would do anymore – and that was what scared her the most.

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The waters icy grip stung every cell in Zoro's body. It was sharp, crushing cold suffocation. And it was perfect. In that pain and rush of adrenaline, Zoro felt at peace. His body felt numb and his mind followed suite.

That sweet numbing ended too soon for Zoro as he reached the shore. He turned around and could make out the silhouette of the ship. It seemed so far away and a pit in his stomach formed at the idea of going back there. He didn't feel shame or like a betrayer. But that was how they saw him. He was nothing more than a man who harmed two of the crewmates and deep down he felt they would never grow to look past that.

He shook the thoughts off, begging to bring back the numbness. He didn't want to think and deal with the stress that suddenly was encompassing his life.

So he wandered. Technically, if you asked him, he would have told you he was headed in a specific direction. But he would turn left, then right, and suddenly his sense of direction was shot to hell and walking became wandering between the shoreline and treeline.

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"Ah. Hello Zoro."

Zoro froze. His legs locked and his arms shot down to his sides and his fingers latched around the hilt. He hadn't been walking for long before he heard a voice call out to him.

"Oh, no need for those weapons."

That voice. It was sweet with a flamboyant edge.

"I just came to talk to you. I'm glad you came alone."

Zoro's heartbeat shot up and he could hear the blood pumping through his own body. It was Doflamingo.

Slowly, Zoro turned around and was met with a tall man in a ruffled pink boa. He was leaning back against a tree, arms folded across a typical dress shirt and a crazy smile to match his striking eyes that were masked by a pair of sunglasses.

"What do you want?" Zoro said roughly. His eyes locked onto a glint in Doflamingos enlarged classes.

"Heh, isn't that obvious?"

Zoro didn't hold a moment of hesitation, "No."

Doflamingo let out a quick cackle. "Not one for long winded answers are ya?"

Zoro didn't respond, just continued to gaze at Doflamingo with a blank expression. _I should be furious. I shouldn't be talking to him. He's the whole reason I'm in this stupid mess. If it wasn't for him and his stupid crew I wouldn't have hurt Robin, I wouldn't be feeling this way, and all this shit wouldn't have happened. I should cut him down where he stands._ But he didn't. Something held him back. Something inside of him wanted to talk.

"Very well then." Doflamingo brushed a lock of hair from his face. "I want you to join my crew."

Zoro was forced to blink several times to even begin to process the words. _He… wants me… to join his crew…_

There was a moment of drawn out hesitation before Zoro stuttered out a "What?'

"I've seen your power and I value that immensely, especially since you don't posses a devil fruit. Your power is your own and I admire that. I need a man like you on my crew."

"You tried to kill me less than a week ago." Zoro retaliated harshly. He still remembered the feeling of death that nearly consumed him. He felt the cold arms of the grave as blood drenched from his body. He felt the crumpling weakness of defeat at the hands of one of his men.

He also felt the tidal wave of power that suddenly overwhelmed him. He remembered the blood lust, the anger, the power when he crushed Dalburn. It was the sweetest strength he had ever tasted.

"If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead." Doflamingo said in a moment of seriousness. "But I didn't. I knew you take him… you just needed a little _push_."

"I should kill you right now."

Doflamingo shook off the threat and continued on "I gave you a push your so called friends can never give you."

Zoro stood struck for a moment, waiting for his rage to boil to the surface. But he found no anger inside of himself. Doflamingo insulted his friends, yet he felt nothing- nothing for it. If anything, it made sense.

"You don't know anything…" Was all Zoro could mumble out. It was a pathetic comeback and Zoro knew it.

"I know you deserve better than that comical and truly laughable crew you tag along with. I know you have passion and drive for things other than pointless adventures. I know you know they are holding you back."

Zoro swallowed hard. It was like Doflamingo could see his thoughts. Zoro hadn't stopped thinking about the sudden rush of power and invincibility that followed his near –death experience. Initially, he blocked it out for harming Robin. But eventually that harm lost all guilt and the power crept into his mind. He should have been dead but he had more to him than that and it was the first time he ever saw his real power.

"I also know that you belong with my crew."

Zoro's eyes flickered to the ground. Doflamingo was focused, he had connections, and he could make Zoro's dreams come true. Zoro felt he could grow stronger with a man with focus leading him. And not a monkey running around pointing at everything adventurous and shiny.

But this would be the ultimate betrayal. This was the ultimate stabbing of Luffy in the back. He could cut Robin, he could burn Sanjii, but he couldn't do that. He wanted to but he couldn't. That would destroy Luffy and despite the naivety of his captain, Zoro owed Luffy a lot and couldn't just turn his back on Luffy. He promised he would be Luffy's first mate and what man would he be if didn't keep his word.

"I… already have a crew." Zoro muttered. It came out devoid of any confidence and it did nothing to ease Zoro's conflict.

"And they have let you down. They are failures. They are men who prance around in a Speedo and another that is a god damn perverted skeleton. This is not what you want."

Every word seemed to sting with an ounce of truth to Zoro. He had often questioned Luffys introduction of crew members and the paths that they took. They were a distracted crew that was barely held together.

"No, not the crew I want, but it's the crew I have." He didn't believe a word out of his own mouth. But he needed to defend the crew. If he didn't, there would be no way he could ever face them again. Everything would be lost then if he admitted how much he agreed with Doflamingo.

"Why…" Doflamingos smile dropped. "Why do you defend them?"

_If only I could say how badly I want to say yes_… A real crew, real power, a real leader. Zoro thought briefly of Sanjii and wondered if he would be disappointed or angry. He wondered if Chopper would cry. He wondered how many fake threats Nami would issue. He wondered how often Luffy would blame himself. He may have hated parts of his crew, but he couldn't help but wonder what they truly thought of him. If they were even worth defending.

_But I promised Luffy._ Zoro thought. It was the only string he could hold onto the crew by. It was a string he had sewn himself and it was his word. A man is nothing without that and he would hold onto it forever. No matter what the crew did, he swore his loyalty.

That day when Luffy saved him from his own brand of honor and stupidity he swore to be on Luffys crew. That promise suddenly felt like the weight of the world.

"I promised Luffy." Zoro breathed a deep sigh. He was not defending his crew. He was defending his own word. "I gave him my word and my loyalty, no matter how wrong of a captain he is."

Doflamingo nodded slightly. "I guess I have no real choice but to respect that. Your loyalty to your own word is something great."

Zoro noticed he had shifted his hand off of his sword hilt. He was no longer tense. He felt that numbness again that he had craved. He was thinking, but Doflamingo had orchestrated his thoughts for him. The cold, clasping numbness swept over his brain with a comfort. He was oddly comfortable in the presence of the maniac warlord.

"Allow me one more thought." Doflamingo said. "You have no real desire for either the high seas or pirates."

Zoro cocked his eyebrow, "No. I don't. If you're so interested in me you know I want to be the greatest swordsman, that's all."

"So you want power and strength." Doflamingo responded.

Zoro nodded. "What of it?"

"Do you realize your dreams do not mix with that of your crews?"

That idea hit Zoro like a gushing force. His eyes darted around and his thoughts bounded inside of his head, trying to fully grasp the point Doflamingo was making.

"Your captain wants to be the Pirate King. Your Chef wants to find an ocean. Your navigator wants to draw the world. I could go on but I think you see what I mean." Doflamingo cooed. "None of them want power, none of them want strength. You were a bounty hunter turned pirate. Your dreams were never shared by them, that was never who you were. And the very goals of their dreams have nothing to do with yours. Yours will never matter, never be seen as anything but selfish. Your dream-

"Shut up!" Zoro exclaimed. "God Damnit just shut up!"

He couldn't stand to hear it anymore. He gave up being a bounty hunter in hopes this pirate path would lead him closer. And now Doflamingo was illustrating new thoughts into his already crammed head. He just couldn't take it.

Zoro looked up, chest heaving in frustration. "I will not join your crew. I am a man of my word and I gave that word to Luffy."

Doflamingo just nodded slowly.

"Leave, before I unsheathe and end your nonsense." Zoro threatened with an empty look in his eye.

"Now, now boy, I think we both know it's not nonsense. You may keep your word to your ridiculous captain for now. But know, you belong on my crew and you will admit it to yourself soon enough." Doflamingo whispered.

In a flash, Doflamingo was gone, leaving a swordsman with white knuckles clasping with uncertainty and despair at the frame of his swords.

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**Authors Note: Review please! This chapter wouldn't have come out for another 2 months probably if it weren't for the reviews. They're the only things that kick me up off my butt and update!**

**I just hope Zoro didn't come off as too dark and moody in this chapter. Obviously I'm setting him up as a darker character and need to make it still cannon.**


	11. Chapter 11: The Final Strike

**_Authors Note: Uh…. So…. Here you go…. Yeah... It's been a while haha_**

The walk had done nothing to help clear Zoro's mind. It actually made his headache worse and it throbbed painfully as corruptive thoughts danced around his head. Doflamingo had made many good points and each one felt like a dagger to Zoro. They were grinding away at every piece of loyalty that Zoro possessed and he could feel the weight of them pressing down on him.

He began to walk back towards the ship. Every step towards the ship felt heavy and forced. He was practically dragging his feet back to the place that he was supposed to call home. His entire body yearned to turn around, run back to Doflamingo, and accept his offer. But there was one thread of loyalty still connected to the ship and crew and try as he might, Zoro could not find the strength to severe that bond.

As much as his crew felt like they were dragging him down, Zoro could not turn his back on them quite yet. He was sure they hated him at this point, but he still gave them his loyalty. He had given Luffy his word and had made a commitment to the crew to be there for them. And as much as it killed him, he felt bound by those words.

And so, he trodded across the beach back to the shore where the ship was gently resting. With a heavy sigh he waded into the water until it swelled to his waist. With his swords firmly attached to his sides, he pushed off the ground and swam to the edge of the ship. Grasping the ladder with blistered fingers, he pulled himself over the railing with ease and landed with a smacking sound on the deck.

He expected the deck to be relatively clear. It seemed the entire crew had been avoiding him for weeks now. And yet, there was everybody, sitting on the deck. Luffy sat in the middle of the crew with his back propped up against a tree, his hands folded with abnormal grace in his lap, and with his head craned down, hiding his features. Nami and Sanjii decorated his sides. Sanjii had a cigarette burning on his lips and he leaned up against a pillar, not even glancing at Zoro when he landed on the deck. The rest of the crew was scattered across the main deck, each one looking stern and slightly timid at the same time.

Zoro was unsure of what to make of the sudden gathering. _Are they here for me?_ He thought. There were a few beats of awkward silence as Zoro ripped off his shirt and wrung it on the deck. He looked around for a moment, waiting for somebody to speak. The silence continued and Zoro let out an overtly loud sigh and began to walk towards the weight room.

"Zoro." A voice called out to him.

_Oh look, they do speak! _Zoro thought bitterly as he stopped and turned around. With a voice burning with a bitter sarcasm, he responded "Yes?"

There was a heavy silence in the air as the crew turned to all look at Sanjii, waiting for the next words.

"We saw you." He said, staring off into the distance.

"What?" Zoro grunted.

At that Sanjii walked a step away from the post he was leaning on and finally turned to face Zoro. His eyes locked Zoro's green ones. "We saw you."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Zoro said calmly, but deep down his heart beat was spiking.

Sanjii took a small breath as if the words were painful to say. "When Luffy and I were out getting supplies, we saw you." He took a large swallow, trying to keep his voice from cracking. "With Doflamingo."

Instantly, every muscle in Zoro's body contracted and he felt frozen to the spot.

_They saw me._

_With Doflamingo._

_They were there the whole time._

Zoro couldn't even think of how to respond. He didn't want to deny it- he was through with all of the lying. He just stood there, waiting for Sanjii to continue.

But it wasn't Sanjii who spoke next, it was Luffy. It was quite, soft questioning voice that made Zoro's heart ache for a moment. "Why?"

Zoro gnawed on the inside of his lip. _I could say he was angry for me killing Dalburn. I could say he was curious where I got the strength. I could say anything right now to make this issue go away._ But Zoro couldn't bring himself to lie again.

"He wanted me to join his crew."

A shot of electricity seemed to zip through the crew and the air appeared to have been sucked out of the ship. The world felt frozen and sharp and empty and hollow and awful. Half of the crew looked to Zoro with a disappointment of disgust and disappointment and the other half couldn't even meet his eyes. But Zoro did not falter- He did not look down with shame and sadness but instead kept his head held high with pride.

"What did you say?" Usopp asked after what felt like the longest pause. He knew what he had heard but he couldn't process it. He was dreading the answer.

Every person held their breath as they waited for the answer. "Obviously, I said no." Zoro answered and a massive exhale could be heard across the deck. _Or else I wouldn't be here._

"Why did he ask you that?" Sanjii stared at Zoro, not at all satisfied with Zoro's answer.

Zoro just shrugged in response.

"Really though," Sanjii continued, taking a few steps towards Zoro. "Why would one of the seven warlords of the sea ask you to join his crew when you already have one? Why would somebody who tried to kill us all suddenly offer you a job? Why would you even stand there talking to somebody who just tried to massacre your entire crew less than a week ago?!"

The questions stung Zoro and he realized exactly how bad it sounded. He met the man who tried to kill them all on a beach and had a nice little conversation with him instead of pulling out his swords and trying to kill him.

_But why? Why did I stay and talk? Why did he ask me to join the crew?_

A thousand answers ran through his head.

_He admires my strength_

_He thinks you all are no good for me._

_He can see how much you all are dragging me down._

_He understands that I shouldn't be wasting my time with you all._

_He doesn't hold me back._

"He thought I was being held back on this crew." Zoro said. He could have made up any excuse or at least softened the brutal message of his statement- but he didn't. It came out cold and harsh.

"Oh, oh, being held back. Right." Sanjii fake nodded after processing Zoro's response. He was too filled with rage and disgust to hesitate. "And let me ask you another question then Zoro… Are you?"

Every eye was now focused on Zoro. The word _yes_ was burning on his lips. He could say it and it would all be over. If he just said yes, the truth would finally come out. But he couldn't bring himself to say that. So he continued to stand there in a brooding silence.

"Oh, alright then. So sorry to be holding you back Zoro!" Rage was filling Sanjii and the mood on the ship had turned dangerous. Sanjii was walking to a fierce mocking tone towards Zoro. The silence came off as worse than the actual word "Zoro, sorry we aren't good enough for you.

Zoros tongue grew dry and his throat shrunk. He couldn't find himself to speak.

"How dare I even stand in your presence-

-Gosh, I'm holding you back so much-

- maybe I should just go join another crew" Sanjii continued on, spouting out insults. He was hurt by Zoro's response but he had no other way to handle it than with his anger.

"Sanjii…" Luffy muttered, reaching up to grab onto the blonde boy's wrist to hold him back.

"What?"

"That's enough"

"Are you fucking kidding me? You SAW him Luffy. Talking to Doflamingo. Casually, just talking like it was no big deal. Zoro is treating going to another crew like it's no big fucking deal and you're asking ME TO STOP?"

Luffy tightened his grip on Sanjiis arm and looked up. His eyes weren't curved upward in a puppy and sad face. They were stricken with a dead seriousness. It was that look that Luffy gets when his friends are hurt, when the enemy has done something so disgracefully wrong, and it was a look that made him look as though he never knew how to laugh.

"Zoro, do you think we are holding you back?" Luffy asked with narrow eyes.

_Yes. _Zoro screamed internally. _Yes I do. Yes I believe you hold me back. I could be so much more without these stupid adventures. I could be so much stronger without the distractions and wasting my energy on friendships. I could be better with focus and a focused captain. I could be better without you._

"Answer me Zoro." Luffy said.

The word felt stuck in Zoros throat. His voice cracked out a broken "Yes."

Even after saying it, there wasn't a massive weight lifted off of Zoro's chest. It still felt like something was digging down into his heart and now the word was out there. How he really felt was out there for the entire crew to hear.

However crushing the word felt, Luffy showed no signs of emotion. His face was vacant as he let out a small nod. Luffy suddenly had a flashback to a few nights before where he and Sanjii asked Zoro about the dream and nakama thing. Zoro had changed so much. Luffy just couldn't understand his first mate anymore.

"So every fight we've fought together, that's been holding you back?" Sanjii roared, he couldn't take it. Everything they've done together couldn't have been for nothing. Every memory they had made couldn't have just been holding Zoro back. He refused to believe that his best friend believed him to be a hindrance. Again, Sanjii felt the burning anger that he had felt when Zoro told him that he would choose his dream over him.

Zoro just gave him a blank stare back. He didn't have the energy to fight this fight. He had been having this fight with himself for the last few weeks and he didn't want to start it over again with Sanjii.

"What the hell is wrong with you lately!?" Sanjii shouted, wrestling his hand free from Luffys grasp. Luffy didn't even bother to try and catch it.

Zoro rubbed his hand over his forehead and eyes, just wishing the annoying noise that was Sanjii would go away.

"I'm so sick of this Zoro." Sanjii was nearly a foot away from Zoro now. "I'm sick of you being moody and brooding about and now you want to leave our crew? Where's the real Zoro? Our Zoro? The jackass who would never do anything that would hurt us. You may have been cocky and proud but you were loyal to use, you were one of us."

Zoro took a step forward so he was nearly touching Sanjii. "I said no to him. And you're making it feel like that was the wrong answer."

Sanjii was done with words.

Within an instant his foot shot through the air, nearly catching an unsuspecting Zoro's face. Zoros instincts reacted and he barely dodged the flying foot. Sanjiis hands dropped to the ground and propelled another rapid kick towards Zoro, this time connecting, sending a foot straight into Zoros gut. The air escaped Zoro's lungs and he was flung back several feet.

His boots skidded across the ground and his hands quickly griped his swords and pulled them out. Sanjii was the first to make another move, bolting with a low kick towards Zoro who leapt over it and dodged the next kick that Sanjii shot above him in the air. Zoro swung his left sword down, ready to plunge it into Sanjii but the chef rolled out of the way at the last second. Zoro didn't hesitate and removed the sword from where it had plowed into the deck. This time Zoro made the first assault. He began to swing his swords expertly, aiming for Sanjii as the chef was barely able to dodge the blows.

One strike nicked Sanjiis armed, making a massive gash down the side. Sanjiis reflexes instantly went to cover it and to check the damage. Zoro noticed and swung for his other side, connected another blow as the cook was forced back again. He now had matching gashes on his arms.

"Stop it"

Zoro's eyes narrowed and he sunk down into a crouch and leapt towards Sanjii, sword fully extended. It plowed towards Sanjii, who was barely able to spin away from the most of the blow. The edge of the sword caught him on the rib, slicing him through. The blood gushed out from all three of the wounds as Sanjii hopped back, trying to steady himself.

"STOP IT."

Both men yielded for a moment, but neither took their eyes off each other. They always play fought, but this was the first time it was real. This was the first time they truly spilt each others blood and were ready to kill the other. Well, Sanjii didn't quite want to kill Zoro but Zoro knew he would feel little remorse for Sanjii. It was just like with Robin, there was no guilt. He could kill his 'friend' and not feel a thing. That was what he had become.

The fight felt so empty.

"That is enough." Luffy's voice shouted again.

"God damn it! I told you guys, I said no to Doflamingos offer! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Zoro shouted back, his swords still raised high.

Nami had raced over to Sanjiis side and was aiding Chopper in dressing his wounds. Chopper was rapidly

"There shouldn't have even been an offer Zoro! You should have never given him a reason to think you wanted to leave the crew!" Nami shouted with red eyes. She couldn't even look at Zoro, there was a darkness about him that frightened her and made her tremble.

"I said no and that should be the only thing that matters!"

"Well it's not the only thing that matters!" Nami continued on. "You've changed Zoro. You didn't used to be so cold to us. And you know what? I don't like the new you."

"I'm sorry I don't quite meet your standards you little _bitch_." A shuddering gasp shook through the crew. "I have saved your life countless times when you were too worried about money or god forbid staining your precious clothes. And I've never once gotten a thank you or a good job. No, all I've ever gotten from you is a debt. You were never warm to me Nami, not even when I risked my life to help save you from the fisherman. Don't talk to me about warmth you cold hearted –

Sanjii would not stand for his women being insulted. He shook Chopper off of his arm and lunged for the swordsman. Zoro was so fired up on rage that his adrenaline was already racing and his instincts sharp. He saw Sanjii coming and easily dodged the blow, spinning around to drive his sword straight through Sanjiis leg.

The sword slipped right through his thigh, just like butter.

His scream rang through the icy air. Blood seeped around the sword wound and Zoro ripped his sword from Sanjiis flesh. Sanjii curled his fist and bit his tongue to hold back another scream as blood continued to pool around his leg.

Zoro just looked down at the wound, squirting and leaking at a sickening pace. He looked down at Sanjii, fighting back another scream with his head buried in his arms. He then looked over at the rest of the crew.

Nami was crying and curled up in a ball with her knees pressed tight to her chest. Usopp was on the other end of the deck, refusing to believe what he was seeing. And Chopper was looking away, as if the very scene was causing him physical pain.

And Zoro felt nothing. No regret. None of the crew's pain or sadness meant anything to him anymore. There was an empty anger that swarmed around him and his thoughts seemed to have become muted.

There was a small shuffling sound behind Zoro and reflexively Zoro swung, ready to plow his sword down.

It was Luffy.

Zoro tightened his arm muscles, halting the blow inches before impact with Luffys shoulder. But the younger boy didn't even flinch.

"That's. Enough." He said decisively. His eyes looked hollow and dark and angry. But not the normal anger when he takes down an enemy. No, this was anger at himself and at everything. It was a hopeless anger. "Chopper come treat Sanjiis wounds before he bleeds out."

The little fur ball was shaking and shook his head, refusing to. He couldn't bring himself to go close to Zoro.

"Go Chopper." This wasn't a suggestion, it was a captain's order.

Chopper crept over, keeping one eye on Sanjii and the other on Zoro. Zoro turned around and looked at Chopper. The doctor cringed at the dark void that had filled Zoro's eyes. Chopper kept a large distance from Zoro, as if a darkness was pushing him away from the swordsman.

"You raised your sword against the crew Zoro." Luffy's voice was trembling, but he was trying so hard to keep it still. "You need to leave."

It killed Luffy to say that.

But it hurt him worse to see his crew falling apart. He didn't want the constant fighting and bickering. He didn't want the awful mood that had sunk into the crew the last few weeks.

But he also didn't want Zoro to go- truly he didn't. Zoro had been there since the beginning and he wanted to help Zoro with whatever was bothering him but somewhere deep inside Luffy knew he couldn't. Zoro had stopped caring about the crew. And Luffy could see it.

Zoro chuckled slightly. "When we first met, I told you that I would leave your crew if you ever stood in the way of my goal. I guess that time has come."

With a sharp motion, Zoro sheathed his sword and walked towards the edge of the ship. His foot steps were heavy, deliberate stomps. Without a look back at the crew. Zoro softly said "Goodbye." He dove into the ocean below, bringing nothing with him but his precious swords.

_Doflamingo was right. It was my time to move on from them._

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**Authors Note: Well, uh, that's it. Next chapter will get into the spore situation.**


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